Stranger in a Familiar Land
by MerrickBelle
Summary: Tony Stark has secrets. Despite riches and fame, he has few true friends and little life outside of Iron Man. Which is who everyone seems to want, except Pepper. Pepper hates Iron Man, but he can't change what he is. Harry Potter has no idea what life after death holds, but he can't go back, can't undo what has been done. The only way is forward, for both of them (SLASH) Harry/Tony
1. More Than He Bargained For

_Disclaimer: I own nothing other than a few OC's and my own plot lines_

 _A/N: Warnings for Language_

 _Thoughts are in italics_

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Usually when Tony had a woman in his penthouse they knew what the rules were when they entered. Tony hated to pretend even in his own home and made it a point to let his bed partners know that it was for one night and one night only. There will be no second chances. The game often went like this; offer them a drink, a little chitchat maybe to charm them right out of their panties, then after a few hours of fun time, send them packing. If he liked his current bed partner enough, he might make her a bagel before sending her on her way. That was the old Tony Stark. Before a feisty Pepper Potts stepped center stage into his personal life.

However, Tony really didn't think these old rules were anywhere in the same galaxy of reality when you factor in the fact that said woman currently in his penthouse was one Natasha Romanoff. Formally the stunning Natalie Rushman, assistant to the previously mentioned Pepper Potts. Not unless he wanted to die in some creative, and likely painful fashion, doled out by either one or the other female. Possibly both. Likely both.

"Can I help you with something Miss. Romanoff?" Tony asked as he closed the door behind her, briefly letting his eyes skim over her casual jeans and blouse, before heading straight for the wet bar to one side of the kitchenette.

"Would you like something to drink?" He offered a moment later when she didn't immediately reply. Letting her glance around the living room with plush sofas, armchair and big screen TV. Opening the mini fridge, Tony hummed softly under his breath as he debated what he wanted. Tony watched from the corner of his eye as her nose wrinkled briefly in disgust before it smoothed away into a neutral expression when she turned back.

"It's nine in the morning Stark; little bit early don't you think?" Tony closed the mini fridge door with a little more force than necessary at her tone, letting a plastic smile slide automatically over his lips in subconscious defense. Thought her tone was neutral enough, Tony knew full well that she was throwing an unspoken jab at his previously excessive drinking habits of the recent past.

"I was referring to the bottled water or the soda Miss Romanoff." He answered crisply, perfectly polite. _Wouldn't do to die by assassination because he was rude after all, even if she started it._

They looked at each other for a moment in silence as he absently unscrewed the cap off the cold water he'd taken out for himself. Her body language was stiff, whether in discomfort or dislike he wasn't sure and frankly, just at the moment, he didn't give a damn. Finally she seemed to give an internal sigh of annoyance and spoke once more. "Director Fury wanted to know if your offer to house the other members of the Avengers Initiative still stands?"

Picking up his bottle Tony moved around the bar and walked towards the lone armchair in the living room. Wondering why the man hadn't simply called him about the question, rather than sending this prickly messenger. Was it some misguided attempt to coax or butter him up? Because this was definitely the wrong woman to send for the job if that was the case, SHIELD spy or not. "Yes, the offer still stands. Did Fury happen to say when he wanted to send you guys with your things? I have to set up space for you all first."

Natasha gave a sharp nod in response, crossing her arms over her chest as she tracked his movement into the living space with her eyes, not moving to join him. Tony sat down and made himself comfortable. If Natasha wanted to stand in the middle of the room that was her own problem. Tony scooped up the tablet he'd been using before she's knocked on his penthouse door, lightly balancing it on one knee as he gazed back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"As soon as possible, let me know when the space is ready." Romanoff said, with a slight irritated huff. Tony didn't know what the woman had to be annoyed about. He was being perfectly civil in his opinion. He chose not to call her on it.

"Alright, I'll get a hold of a contractor and let Fury know what the time estimate is; I wouldn't think it to be longer than a few weeks. Jarvis?" His mind spun with various ideas, and what each individual would need. As always, his AI was prompt at determining what Tony needed without his having to say anything.

"Yes Sir, informing Miss Potts of the renovations." Jarvis' voice echoed smoothly in the room.

Tony rose from his chair, setting aside the tablet again as he did so. Walking towards Natasha, Tony gave her the same plastic smile he'd given her earlier. "Well, was that everything today Miss Romanoff? Yes? Excellent." He said without waiting for her to give a response.

"I will contact Fury later with further information, as I mentioned. Email or by phone, text, whatever. By the way, Miss Romanoff send me an email later about what design styles you, Clint and Rogers like so they can be incorporated, yeah?" Without much effort on Tony's part, Romanoff allowed herself to be herded towards the penthouse door, offering only a clipped affirmative to his design comment, and a goodbye as she exited. Clearly as ready to leave as Tony was to have her out of his personal space.

The billionaire sighed in relief with a roll of his eyes once the door was safely shut and the lock re-engaged. Switching mental gears with a slight bounce to his step he grabbed up his water bottle and headed towards his private elevator off to one side of the room. This was just what he needed to get his mind off of personal issues regarding a certain green eyed person with a sexy British accent, who should not have been on his mind in the first place. Pepper's eyes were blue after all, not green, and she sure a s hell wasn't British as far as Tony knew. Not matter how much he thought about things, or turned things over in his mind Tony couldn't resolve himself one way or the other anyhow. "Lab time Jarvis! We have living spaces to create downstairs!"

"Sir, may I remind you that you have a two o'clock meeting with the board of directors that Miss Potts insisted that you be present for?"

He waved a hand dismissively as the elevator doors shut and the machine whirred to life around him, traveling down to his personal lab that could only be accessed from his floor. "Yea yea, that's hours from now Jarvis, remind me again an hour before."

"As you say Sir." The AI sounding a bit sarcastic in regard to Tony's flippant attitude. After a few moments the elevator slowed, and then stopped, doors sliding open to Tony's private nirvana. Lights flicked on to reveal the chaos of machine parts, metal bits, tools, engine oils, lubricants and all manner of things strewn over countertops, shelves and tabletops alike. Grinning like a fool Tony sauntered into the mess, pausing only long enough to grab a couple of power bars off the nearest counter. Unwrapping one and stuffing it into his mouth then tossing the other one onto the only small bit of cleared table space for later consumption. Pushing some of the items carefully to one side to give himself more working room without the danger of knocking something breakable to the floor, Tony quickly chewed the bite in his mouth.

"Alright Jarvis, light her up! Lemme see what floor spaces I have available, or that can be cleared without much fuss for our little project!" Instantly a holographic diagram of the Stark Tower appeared in front of him, lighting up the open floors.

"There are currently six floors open to being changed Sir. Four are simply being used for storage or empty office space as of right now and can easily be allocated to your plans once the items therein are moved elsewhere. They are below this laboratory. Two are above the penthouse and are currently empty; you had them set aside for a previous project that you later discarded."

"Huh... why don't I remember that?"

"Your blood toxicity level at the time Sir was rather high. It is therefore, not surprising you do not recall this project."

"What was I planning to do with them?"

"You had the idea of converting one floor into a gymnasium with showers and pool, and the other into a 'Playboy Bunny Playhouse' I believe is the phrase you used."

"Okay, the gym and pool sound good, but Pepper will murder me for the other. Turn one of those floors into living space for Rogers and Thor. The one with the huge balcony should work, just put in some sliding glass doors and voila! Landing pad for the Thunder god and a little bit of outdoor space for Rogers." The two floors in discussion lit up and zoomed in, everything else falling away as Tony examined what he had to work with.

"Very well Sir, how would you like the living floor set up?"

"Shared balcony and hallway to the elevator, but separate apartments I think. Bedrooms, large size bathrooms for these guys, modest living room area with kitchenette. You know, enough to cook something simple, store junk food and drinks. That kind of thing."

"And the gym area Sir?"

"Set it up with weights and various machines, a running track if there is room, and a matted floor area. Then the showers and locker-room in between that area and the pool so they are separate spaces." Tony watched as the picture blurred and then cleared, showing the various changes as he spoke them, pausing for a moment he examined what he already had for these two floors above him, considering what else could be wanted or useful.

"Okay, I think that's it for the moment on those floors, you said there are four others?" He watched as the image spun away as it zoomed out to show the other four floors below lit up. "Floor right below us, turn it into a common area for everyone, full set kitchen and eat in dining area. Full size living room and entertainment space, TV, Stereo, gaming stations, set it up, make it cozy and comfortable, bathroom too. The floor below that set up Clint and Natasha's apartments, same layout as before, put Bruce under them with his own lab and Zen space. Make sure that one is reinforced for the Hulk's strength."

Again he stopped to consider what he already had and the special needs of his new guests; roommates? What the hell am I supposed to call them? We are all still strangers to each other.

"Shift Bruce's floor down one and make the previous space a shooting range for Clint and Natasha. Then move Bruce's lab down one floor so he has more space to play if he wants to use it."

"Dr. Banner has the entire floor to himself. Would that not possibly be misconstrued as favoritism Sir?" Tony frowned as he thought about it, and then shrugged. _What the hell do I care,_ thought Tony. _Bruce and I share more of a liked mind and understands my need for privacy not to mention my insomnia._

"Thor would be a lousy roommate for Bruce when he was around because he's just so damned loud. Clint would pop out of hiding somewhere and scare the hell out of him, and Natasha isn't comfortable around him as it is. I doubt she would want to room with him." _Besides she is the type to shoot now ask questions later._

"There is always Steve Rogers, Sir."

Again Tony shrugged "I think if there was an incident, for whatever reason, a reinforced floor of his own with no potential casualties would make Bruce more comfortable than sharing. If for some reason they can't understand that; then too damn bad."

"As you say, Sir. All the available floors have been used and arranged as you requested. All that is left is decorating preferences of the members assigned to them. Miss Romanoff has not yet emailed the requested information." Jarvis continues.

"Alright then, for right now we're done. Keep an eye out for that email for me Jarvis. How much longer do I have to play?"

"You currently have three hours before you need to dress for the Board meeting."

Tony sighed. "Damned boring board meetings, why do I even need to go? Isn't that why I made her CEO? Bring up the specs on the repulsors for the Mark VII; I want to see if I can make them lighter without altering their integrity or power output." The building diagram winked out of existence and was replaced with images for the Iron Man suit. Contently Tony dove into equations, letting the world around him slip away briefly until it was time for him to get ready for Pepper's dreaded board meeting.

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Two days later Tony received that email from Romanoff on their decorating preferences. _Did they think I have nothing better to do with my fucking time than to sit around and pander to their needs?_ From there is was two weeks before the floors were completed to Tony's satisfaction. However, everyone showed up the minute he let Fury know the rooms were done. Except for Bruce, he went back to India for a short time, but would be returning later during the week. As for Thor, who the hell knew where or when he would show up again. Tony was happy to do the grand tour to each living area, chatting a mile a minute as he went. Tony felt the uncomfortable atmosphere being given off from the others behind him as they shuffled along with their bag clenched tightly in their hands.

Not knowing what else to do the ease the tension, he invited them to dinner in the common area and left them to settle in after introducing them to Jarvis. Which really could have gone better, if the alarm in Clint's eyes, and the frown on Steve's lips was anything to go by. But, they seemed pleased with how their personal rooms were decorated if nothing else; even if Rogers was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of space he could call his own.

The rocky and awkward beginning should have clued him in that things were going to go south. They were not ready to be a part of the Tony Stark world, and truth be told he was not ready to have them in it. Tony chalked it up to having others in their personal space all of a sudden.

Tony should not have felt disappointed that no one showed up for dinner, but he did. When he checked with Jarvis, Tony learned that the two agents Romanoff and Barton left the building hours ago, and Steve was nowhere to be found. Pushing away his disappointment, he cleaned up the ordered food, placing it into the fridge and taking his own plate of Chinese, headed down to the lab for some playtime instead. Pepper was in Malibu for the next two weeks working on their newest phone and Stark Pad promotions, so he had plenty of time for himself. Asking Jarvis to alert him to when any of the others came back, and to let them know about the Chinese left for them, he dove into his latest project with gusto.

When Jarvis alerted him of the 48 hour mark, the others still hadn't returned to the tower. Blinking sleepily, Tony shuffled over to his much abused coffee maker, peering at the sludge within and wondering aloud under his breath if the food poisoning was worth it.

"Jarvis, poke around at SHIELD and tell me if they know where our lost ones are."

Getting an affirmative from the AI, Tony peered at the coffee forlornly, but decided a possible hospital trip because he was lazy was not worth the cost of a worried and angry Pepper. Sighing, he grabbed the carafe and dumped it out in the utility sink, rinsing it out before setting about making a fresh pot of the addicting nectar of the gods.

"Sir, it appears that agents Barton and Romanoff are overseas on assignment, while Rogers is both attending several charity functions and SHIELD training courses."

Tony blinked rapidly a couple of times, breaking his stare down with the coffee maker.

"Huh, why didn't any of them tell me they were leaving for a few days?"

"I do not know Sir." Tony waved dismissively at the AI. "Oh well, it's not all that important, I'll set something social up when they all get back." _But it would have been nice to give me a fucking heads up they were going to be off globe trotting._

Except when they all came back home, they constantly had excuses or other things they just had to do, that couldn't be rescheduled or avoided. Tony offered game night, multiple social dinners, hell even breakfast. Offered to host everyone dressing up and going out dancing for the night on his dime. Nothing. Bruce was constantly busy with his hospital work at one place or another, the agents constantly seemed to be on assignment, and hell if he knew where Steve was most of the time, other than sleeping and using the gym, he was almost never there.

It became enough of a pattern that Tony started to really pay attention to what was going wrong with his offers. Their body language was uncomfortable, tense or annoyed no matter how he tried to ease them. Their conversations were always brief, and distantly polite. He just couldn't figure it out. He was being generous with his resources and time, but they always seem to rebuff him, even if it was done nicely. The only times he could say he spent any real time with any of them at all was when Iron man was needed and he refused to count that because, _come on! Really!_

Inevitably, he came to an inescapable conclusion. He was the problem. Tony Stark. They quite simply, didn't want to spend any real time with him outside of missions. They were not his friends, they were not his companions, they were barely associates or acquaintances. It was beyond a depressing and hurtful conclusion. It made him angry. _I offer up my home and yet I am rebuffed in it as if I owe them something when it is them who owes me. I didn't even get a fucking thank you for giving them free room and board._

What was worse, were the constant fights between him and Pepper. Red flags were everywhere and Tony just didn't know what to do about them, or how to fix them. _I'm a genius of science, not relationships._ When he had flown that nuke into space he had expected her to be upset that he almost died saving the damn world. But she showed him no type of emotion or affection. Hell he had been upset, to this day he is still upset that no one else volunteered to sacrifice themselves not even the great Captain fucking America. The only thing Pepper saw fit to give him is grief. She had been furious, and crying, and screaming about his recklessness and disregards for others feelings.

Tony was shocked as he watched her pack her things. That first time she had only stayed away a few days while they talked over the phone. But as Iron Man became busier, she became more distant. At first he did not realize it; Pepper always stayed busy with the company, always traveling for one reason or another. She kept him up to date on his paper work, projects and what meetings he was forced to attend. It wasn't until he started paying attention to the snubbing of his teammates that he realized that Pepper had pulled away from him. Started treating him like a stranger rather than a lover, not even a friend. Months passed before he noticed. Looking back, he remembered more fights than dinners, and more cold nights sleeping alone than lovemaking. Yet Tony remained faithful. _Picture that, me billionaire Tony Stark, remaining faithful to a woman who treats him like cold fish._

Somehow they had slowly shifted back into Tony just being her boss and he didn't know what to do about it. Tony did not want to fight with her, he did not want her unhappy, and it was more than obvious that she was at this point. So he backed off a little, giving her some space. He still offered dinners and dates, but not as frequently, and more often she would turn them down. Until he came back from one mission, a simple one that was more time consuming than anything else to find all of her things gone and his penthouse empty. However, he felt nothing when he realized she was gone. He went to his lab to work on the suit and hadn't noticed until weeks later he had not heard from her. No phone calls, notes, or emails, no texts. Not even updates on what was going on with Stark Industries. She simply wasn't there. Even after everything he thought they would still remain friends, Pepper was the one constant in his life. _It seems I'm going to have to take the bull by the horns and become CEO of Stark Industries again. Damn you Pepper, I planned on giving you the fucking world, whether or not they'd lasted a lifetime. But this?_ This Tony could not accept.

No communication, no reason. Though Tony suspected it was because of Iron Man. Nothing. This wasn't like the Pepper Potts that Tony knew. With his heart heavy, Tony stopped tearing himself apart with indecision. Pepper had made the choice for him. While Tony would certainly grieve for what could have been, there was another option out there. One that had come back from a place he'd never expected, and still wasn't entirely sure was real. Regardless, Tony being Tony was going to grab onto it with both hands and see where it went. Tony didn't chase anyone who made it clear they didn't want him anymore. No, Tony got them out of his system the best he could and moved on. So Tony did what Tony always did when he got his heart broken.

Tony got rip roaring drunk and trashed the penthouse.


	2. A Dimension Far Far Away

_A/N : Warnings for language_

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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Harry James Potter was born to one ecstatically married Lily Ann Potter and her dashing husband, James Potter on magical British soil. For a little over a year life was nearly perfect from little Harry's point of view. His parents loved and cared for him like he was rightfully the light of their lives. Until that fateful Halloween in which he lost everything that was known and familiar to him in a flash of brightly colored emerald light. Shortly after that, poor orphaned little Harry was shuffled off to his mother's only living family, the Dursleys, where life as Harry knew it became a nightmare for the child. Over the years he slowly grew up under their neglectful, hurtful ways until at eleven years of age he was whisked away to the magical world of his parents. Hoping against everything, that life would be better, that it would be a grand adventure! It just had to be, because this was where his perfect, loving, parents had come from, this was their world; a world that they fought and died for. _That they left him behind for._

Harry's life was not a grand adventure as many were led to believe. At times confusing with wondrous moments; but it was also disorienting, stressful, and demanding. Demanding because an entire world that no one knew about depended on him. Depended on him to save them from a madman. They pushed him into accepting a destiny he never asked for. _Why were they pushing at him? After he gave everything he had to give they asked for more. Why was it not enough? When is it ever GOING to be good enough?_ Even at a young age Harry was pushed, pulled, molded and manipulated like so much salt water taffy until he and his closest friends were exactly what Dumbledore and the wizarding world wanted them to be, for the most part. It was no question why Harry walked willing to his death. For the same world his parents, his Godfather, and so many others he loved sacrificed themselves for.

In the end Harry retained the famed Hollows as his own, the Resurrection Stone, the Elder Wand and his invisibility cloak. Despite dropping the Resurrection Stone into the leaf litter at his feet in the Forbidden Forest, it found its way back to him as if he'd called for it. Harry was the last to touch it; technically he was still its unknowing master. Harry did the duty expected of him by the wizarding world he chose to call home; gave up his life, his freedom, his peace and his happiness for years to better serve them. For them to love him, and hopefully when it was done, they would leave him the hell alone for a while. They didn't of course.

They stalked him, took pictures of him wherever he went, gossiped about and criticized nearly every breath he took. Fawned over him, used his name and words in promotions the world over with or without his permission. It didn't seem to matter. They simultaneously loved and loathed him. The media regularly praised and ripped him to shreds on their whims and fancies. Whichever way the wind blew that day.

He was never able to realize his dream of being an Auror like his father and Godfather. The Ministry found excuse after excuse to deny his application.

It took his wife, Ginny, to point out that they were afraid of him. Which kind of boggled his mind, because really? Did they think he was going to blow up the building or something; he wasn't a Dark Lord reincarnate, what the hell? As he thought about it, he realized it was all about covering their own asses and protecting their political positions. _Like I want their damned job anyway, with as much political clout the Black and Potter name carried, not to mention I saved their lives, I could demand they give me the fucking job. But what do I do? I put my application in like a regular applicant only to have them piss all over it._ This was when he was forced to agree that in this at least, Voldemort had been correct. It was about power, or at least the perception of it. It wasn't a pleasant revelation even a little bit. The principle of agreeing with anything that monster said grated on his nerves.

No one but Andromeda seemed to understand what he was going through. Before Remus and Tonks died they made him Teddy's godparent. After the war and graduating from Hogwarts he was too young to care for Teddy. Thank Merlin that Andromeda was able to care and have Teddy live with her. Harry was able to visit with Teddy and have him spend time with he and Ginny on holidays and his birthday. Harry enjoyed watching Teddy grow, he was an energetic five year old. The relationship between Harry and Teddy was and always would be special.

Even with not getting his first job choice life went on for Harry. He settled into a barely comfortable pattern. He took up Quidditch as a second option, though truly his heart wasn't in it as when he was a child playing for the Gryffindor team. _I got to travel at least._ The first time Ginny got pregnant he was blindsided, but happy for the event, even if the timing confused him. He and Ginny had never discussed the issue of children previously, though considering the size of the Weasley clan perhaps Harry should have assumed it to be a forgone conclusion from the beginning.

After they were married Ginny often played coy and hard to get until he would back off in frustration. Then change her mind and suddenly couldn't seem to get enough of Harry if he turned his attention to something else for a time. At times it drove Harry absolutely nuts, other times he looked at it as a little passionate game of cat and mouse between them. Ginny was his childhood love, his own personal firecracker, the one who stood by him through everything the wizarding world had thrown at him. Most believe it was because she reminded him of his mother. _How creepy are they to think I would marry a woman who looked like my mother?_ As far as Harry was concerned the only traits that Ginny and his mother shared was a strong personality uniquely their own. Their hair wasn't even the same shade of red, so Harry had no idea where this rumor had come from.

In retrospect Harry tried to give her the space she wanted sometimes, even if it hurt him to do it. The only thing that made sense was that the child had been a surprise for her too, so he pushed suspicions to the back of his mind and embraced the birth of his first son relationship between he and Ginny appeared settled on the outside for a few years. Things were calm and he continued with his career and loved his son with all of his heart. Teddy was included as a part of his family, growing with James almost as closely as a brother. When his second son came Harry's suspicion grew, because he was certain he had an away Quidditch match and had not been home long enough for them to even have a quickie. _Although if I remember correctly there was that one party at the Weasley home where I got pissed and woke up naked on the couch with Ginny draped over me equally naked._ Harry protested with Ginny that he did not remember them ever making love that night yet she insisted it had happened and their second son Albus was proof.

Harry's final proof of Ginny's infidelity was the birth of his daughter Lily, it broke his heart. A discreet trip to the goblins shortly after Lily was born was the nail in the coffin for Ginny. Shortly after that he brought the boys just for confirmation. As much as Harry wanted to turn his back on Ginny and the children he now knew were not his, he could not. He loved little Lily and her brothers despite it all. They were innocent victims in their mother's duplicity, and so Harry could not find it in his heart to punish them for it.

He discreetly made sure, with the Goblin's help that the children of his heart would inherit equal shares of the Potter fortune upon his passing, and Teddy would receive the Black Lordship. Ginny, he made certain was left only the amount of wealth she had brought into their marriage originally. Along with her own earnings from her career in Spell-warding, and the side earning from George with the joke shop since Fred's death so many years ago. She would be able to live on a modest, carefully watched budget for years. What happened after that, Harry no longer could find it in himself to care what happened. He'd be dead anyhow. In his will Harry made sure to place clauses to ensure she got nothing of the Potter money, his children could not share anything with her without losing their own portion. He also made a point to reveal to everyone exactly why he was being excluded, and why he had stayed with her anyhow, for the sake of his children's sense of safety and happiness. Now that they were adults they deserved to know the truth.

Finding out Ginny's betrayal had shattered Harry's heart into pieces. He'd given her everything he had. She used his weakness for wanting and having a family against him. The first time he held Lily in his arms, he remarked at how much smaller she was than her brothers. Lily was delicate, beautiful and perfect, even if she wasn't of his blood. _My heart was already hers the moment she held his finger in tiny little hands._

Harry's relationship with Ginny suffered horribly once he became aware of her infidelity. He never confronted her on her actions, she'd been discreet enough he supposed, and she took proper care of the children and the home. Yet his love for her waned, Harry stopped making advances or trying to become intimate with her. There was a huge chasm between them, of politeness and excuses. Sex was nonexistent since Lily was born, and neither attempted seeking the other out for it any longer. He no longer got inebriated around her. If Ginny noticed she never said anything. Harry was sure she took other lovers over the years. He did not. He no longer trusted his heart to anyone outside of his children.

Time passed, and his children grew, changed and discovered their own lives and trials. He was happy for them, content with drifting through the rest of his life watching them from the sidelines proudly. Ginny became a stranger to him in those years, and in all honesty he couldn't say he missed her. He had tried at first, but hadn't be capable of mustering up even a sliver of remorse about it. Ginny was always the appropriate wife around others; her affections extending to the occasional pat on the hand, or a kiss on the cheek in public as needed. _It makes my skin crawl just thinking about her touching me now._

Interactions with the Weasley clan became uncertain and strained as they slowly realized things between Ginny and Harry had somehow, somewhere, gone horribly wrong. Neither of them saw fit to enlighten anyone as to the cause. Harry did it to spare his children, he had no idea how Ginny justified it to herself each morning.

As time passed Harry fell into the habit of expecting very little from anyone other than his children, whom he knew for certain loved him to the moon and back. He hated his job more and more; his relationship and life, or lack there of, was empty and lonely. His life was a disaster, and he had no way of fixing it, wasn't even certain when it had all turned on its head in the first place. Harry resolved himself to enjoying his kids and grand-kids, and left the rest in broken pieces by the wayside.

At the age of 140 Harry died, after drinking a glass of Fire Whiskey, ironically reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard while sitting comfortably by the fireplace in the library. He was alone in the house; Ginny found him hours later after returning from a social gathering Harry refused to attend. Harry's death was peaceful, he died with a smile on his face with thoughts of his children and reading their favorite tales of the Deathly Hollows to them. His death was quiet and slow; it crept up on him slowly as he drifted into slumber. Harry looked as if he was sleeping in his chair comfortably.

When Ginny came home hours later in the evening, hung up her coat as usual then wandered around their shared home picking up things here and there before looking for her husband. When she found him, Ginny stood in the doorway long minutes gazing at Harry with no expression of love or hate. Ginny memorized every laugh line, every wrinkle earned in joy, grief and strife. Despite the trials he was forced to endure his entire life, she was aware that she was responsible for many of them. She took in the permanent bruised look his closed eyes held, and felt something faintly like regret stir in her chest. For all the silent betrayal and insult over the years, this man had stood by her, honored her and shielded her when he'd had no obligation to do so.

 _My Harry, you poor delusional, forgiving, loyal and stupid fool. Still believing that there is good in everyone even until your dying breath._

A faint twitch twisted her pale wrinkled lips as she considered her options now. So many options and doors were open to her now as the main beneficiary of the combined Potter-Black fortune. The price had been her youth and her body, but she really hadn't minded. There were worse men she could have sold herself too for the comfort of their money. It had been no hardship to lie under Harry's powerful body when he'd wanted her. _It was a shame he could not give me the children my mother hounded me for._

She'd found an easy way around that of course, ridiculously easy actually, but she had paid a steep price for it. Harry had silently banned her from her from their bedroom, refused to be intimate as was the rights as his wife. In all honesty she missed the way Harry would make her body sing with pleasure. Harry as inexperienced as he had been at first; ended up being an exceptional lover.

Pulling herself from reminiscing about the past she glanced around the room, nodded sharply to herself, straightened up and moved into the room over to Harry. She raised fingers trembling with hope and anticipation to the man's pulse, finding it still and silent. The breath she had unconsciously been holding burst from her in a rush of warm air and elation. Swiftly she gathered her robes and swept from the library to the main receiving room to summon a St. Mungo's Healer. _It's time to set things into motion for a future that is finally my own._

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The first thing Harry became aware was the darkness, then the lack of his senses altogether. He could see nothing, hear, feel, smell or even taste- anything. He was confused and vaguely disturbed by the emotion of nothingness. But even his emotions were distant, intangible things at best. Harry floated, at least, he thought he floated, it was very hard to tell anything. Time meant nothing, nor distance or location, there was simply no information to be had. Dimly he got the impression that he was waiting for something. Harry was not sure what he was waiting for, his thoughts drifting to and fro with no purpose or correlation.

Thoughts of his life filtered through his mind, his family and the people in it. However, those thoughts melted through his metaphorical hands no matter how tightly he tried to grasp them. He was desperate for something to occupy him; though he quickly forgot why in the first place. Existence continued as such until there was little left of the mortal being that was Harry James Potter. What was left was nameless, purposeless. Memories became so faint they materialized themselves as nothing more substantial that dull brief flashes of color, smells, sensation, sometimes emotion. He couldn't identify them as such anymore, and so the war he had fought to keep these small scraps of his psyche was ultimately a wasted effort. They became meaningless, and slipped away too. Finally his soul rested and began to heal.

He broke apart and scattered across the Void that was his domain for the moment. It was a long while before he got the impression of gentle hands slowly gathering him up. Carefully hunting down and selecting each rendered piece of him like some sort of cosmic puzzle. Slowly he became aware of tiny pinpricks of light suddenly around him, though they gave him no point of reference on anything at all. Something had moved him. After a time, he was spoken to, if it could be called speech. Images formed gently in his head as he struggled to bring together his battered, scrambled, mind to understand them. At first he couldn't, and the images were gently repeated, again and again until he began to comprehend.

It was an apology. He wasn't meant to be here alone, with nobody to care for him, with no one to meet him. He sensed that he was gathered close to this…being... for lack of anything else to call it. More images bubbled up in his mind. This being was neither male nor female, young or old, it was all of them simultaneously. It took him a long moment to realize that he was speaking to Death. At his realization the images faded away to silence, but he was still held closely. Harry tried to communicate to his watcher, but received no response other than the being's attention was turned elsewhere for now. So he waited. For however long.

Eventually Death's attention returned to Harry, though he couldn't say how he knew this. Trying again to communicate, he pushed images towards the entity and received pleased amusement in return. Apparently he had accomplished connection. Slowly he was fed information, small bits and pieces at a time. Harry was somehow between layers of existence, not alive and not truly dead either, though he had left his body behind long ago. This is why it had taken Death so long to come to him, though time had little meaning to the being to begin with. Harry learned that there were billions of worlds, of people, galaxies and stars too numerous to count. Levels and layers of life, being and existence that he wasn't yet capable of sorting out beyond that there were many and varied. His previous life had been but one of such vast numbers.

Death coaxed and comforted him as he watched worlds being born, worlds die again and again until the horror and awe left him. Until he observed with fascination the many ways the threads of life twisted and turned. For a long time Death left him to his study, though it was always close whenever Harry needed it. The day came where Harry decided he wanted a closer look. He wanted to be close to these fragile life forms, be among them, he wanted to belong somewhere once more. To feel and experience their trials and triumphs as he had once done. Death was hesitant.

Harry didn't push or argue, he waited patiently sharing snippets and bits of his study that delighted or moved him with the entity. Very much like a child trying to please and sweeten a parent into something he wanted. Death kept one eye on his offered little treasures of information, slowly warming to the idea of its Master's request.

Finally Death relented, and offered him so many options that he became lost in the many and varied possibilities. Finally he decided that he simply didn't care when, where or how it came about, he simply wanted to experience again. Death pulled back slightly in reservation as it considered. Perhaps something similar, with familiarity to his previous life? That seemed to be the best starting option, things could be slowly narrowed down from there.

Death picked a universe that wasn't too far off from what its Master had known previously, and Death itself was rather fond of. It would be able to keep a close eye on its Master; it was there often enough anyway. From there Death offered its Master images of various races in the realms, discarding them one after the other if Harry showed little interest in them. Finally they settled on a handful of options. Going back and forth seemingly forever about the pros and cons of each. Jotun, or Frost Giants, were eventually eliminated as Harry looked more closely at their lives and homeworld. He didn't think he would enjoy that sort of life, even if their natural abilities were intensely interesting.

Next Harry discarded the Aesir. Though they were very intriguing at first glance, the longer he watched them the more he realized that they were at a stagnant point in their world's development. Not what he was looking for then. He wanted excitement, change, Asgard offered little of that below the surface shine. Looking at the mutant humans on Earth revealed endless possibilities that spun off into the nether, but he had no guarantee what he would end up with, and Death was uncertain as well. The entity could send him back into a life of his choosing, within reason, but it could little control what happened to his mortal body or life from there. He could very well end up with a long life, like the Aesir depending on his mutation. Or he could end up being completely useless, or immensely dangerous, on top of a short human length lifespan. Reluctantly this option was tossed aside as well.

He considered the Lycans and Valkyrie for a long, long time, going back and forth until he was nearly dizzy with it, unable to make up his mind. Death observed Harry with endless patience, turning its attention away from time to time only briefly to attend to other matters or duties that Harry had only a vague concept of. More time stretched passed … and he still could not make up his mind. Both were long lived, both powerful in their own ways, their societies delightfully complex and ever changing over time. When it came down to it, the deciding factor really was completely trivial and pointless, but he simply couldn't let it go. Valkyrie had wings. They were masters of their aerial domain, little outclassed them. HE could FLY!

Choice made, Harry tugged at Death's consciousness like an overly excited child, happily showing off his hard won final choice. He had the deep sneaking suspicion that Death was laughing its ass off at him, though he couldn't prove it. After a minute, as he gazed possessively upon the lovely race he had chosen for his new mortal form, Harry decided he didn't care.

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At first Harry didn't notice a change in the type of darkness around him. Then slowly he became aware of his senses again. He was in a small warm space that was comfortable, but there seemed to be something hard encasing his curled up body, restricting much of his movement. He could feel and hear his heart beating, a soft whoosh whoosh that was deeply reassuring in an instinctively primal way. After a while he picked up a strange muffled noise beyond his little shelter, he concentrated on it for a long time before he recognized it as a type of singing. It was strange and foreign but he liked it. It consisted of humming, cooing and a noise similar to the chirping of a bird. Only it was more, a noise made deep in the throat instead of pitched high and sharp. It was comforting, coaxing in a way he just couldn't explain, but his entire physical being responded to it. Harry couldn't stop the chirping or whirring type noises his throat made in response to what he assumed was a parent's contact call.

Time passed and the same voice was a near constant visitor. As he waited for whatever was supposed to happen next, Harry took stock of his new form. He had two arms and two legs that he could move somewhat in the space he was confined to. All fingers and toes were accounted for and also worked just fine as far as he could tell. However Harry was disappointed to note that while he did have a pair of ugly naked wings attached to his back, they barely twitched under his concentrated efforts to move them. Finally the time came where Harry was sick of his smothering little space. A rather violent uncontrollable urge rushed through his being and he began to wriggle in agitation, unable to settle himself. For races all over existence being born was a complicated, nerve wrecking, bloody, screaming, messy affair for both parent and child. Harry was happily hatched from an egg.

It was a singularly unique and beautiful experience in his opinion. The sudden exposure was a shock to his system. Everything was cold, blurry, loud and he couldn't tell up from down. Then someone picked him up, and Harry became aware of warmth, and soft cooing singing he immediately recognized as his parent. It immediately settled something deep within as it always had from the first moment he heard it. He was clutched close and soft feathers descended around his tiny frame, shielding and comforting. Dimly he tried to gather his thoughts, to take stock of the overwhelming world of light, color, sensations and noise. For the time being it was overwhelming, there was so much sensory information, all at once and Harry's body didn't know how to process it. Blinking unfocused eyes he tipped his head back, making mental note that he moved around shockingly well for a newborn, and looked at his parent for the first time.

The Valkyrie holding Harry to its chest was stunningly beautiful in its androgynous way. Rich, lush brunette hair shined in the light, a shade that wasn't far from chocolate, but it was the eyes that caught and held his attention almost instantly. They were sharp, intelligent and intensely silver, very much like Christmas tinsel. There were crinkles around those eyes, a tell tale sign of age, and laughter, but they held such sadness. He reached up to awkwardly pat his parent on the chin, wondering into what, and when, he had been born to cause such a look at what was normally a happy event. A soft smile was Harry's reward, a gentle flash of fangs as his parent laughed in delight. Bringing one wrist to lips, a second flash of teeth pierced skin, startling Harry into stillness as his parent offered him the small bloody wound. At first he did nothing, Harry wasn't sure how to respond to the gesture or what to do with it. He noted the lack of mammalian breasts then, the lack of atypically female form he was familiar with from his old race and life. There was obviously a point to these actions, he just needed to figure it out. Harry turned back to the offered wrist as it was firmly pressed to his tiny lips, smearing the dripping red liquid. Instinctively he began to suckle, and every cell in his body purred in pleasure with the nourishment, eyes half masting sleepily.

Years passed, and Harry grew into his new body gracefully. Soft feather-down grew in to cover his previously bare naked little wings, a pretty sooty color he was rather fond of. Harry knew his wings were unlikely to remain that color, he was just a fledgling and wouldn't get his first flight feathers for a few years yet. He was very pleased with his new body at the moment, it was all awkward knees and elbows but he was slender instead of scrawny and his skin had an attractive healthy glow. Harry's hair on the other hand, was a constant tangled black mop that his parent hopelessly tried to tame. Until one day giving up and simply tying it into a braid down his back, calling it a battle won. Harry over all was a very handsome little fledgling that would grow into a stunning adult given time, but the feature he was most complimented on were his captivating, luminous emerald eyes. Harry lost count of the times Valkyrie were startled nearly stupid when they caught sight of them. Apparently green was a much coveted and extremely rare color among his people. It amused him endlessly how his parent would puff up in vain pride when Harry was so admired. He was told neither of his parents had eyes the same color, so it was uncertain where his had popped up from, but Harry really just didn't care much.

There came a time when his parent sat Harry down and sadly explained to them why their people had made a home on earth, isolated and secluded from the humans. His Sire and older siblings had been slain in a war with a race called the Skrull. His remaining parent was not young, and Harry was the only surviving offspring and there would be no more. While their warriors fought and died his parent had led a large group of survivors and fled for their lives. Their home planet was a toxic wasteland, the Skrull had ruined it beyond repair for multitudes of generations. It was unlikely that their homeworld would ever be reclaimed. Skrull had taken over the neighboring planets, decimated his race, and chased them to the far reaches of sister galaxies. They were scattered far and wide over many systems, settling in groups here and there on various planets. Sometimes they were welcomed with open arms, sometimes they were killed or chased away. Sometimes they hid themselves among the populace of the planet, this was the option Harry's parent had chosen when Earth was found. It wasn't until then that he was told his mother was the Queen, of a sorts, to a broken throne that was no more. Deep loyalty is still tied to the valkyrie Queen who they view as their ruler and the little heir, traditional throne or not. His mother still looked after the people who had stayed on Earth with her. Protected and guided them them best that could be done in the situation at hand.

While Harry was still young, his mother showed him a little of the limited illusion magics natural to his kind. With the quick weaving of a spell, Harry's wings were safely shielded from human view, and he was taken out into the world to learn under sharp watchful eyes of the world that was now his own. It was around this time also that magical tutoring was arranged as well, arming Harry as quickly as possible with the tools he would need to survive in secret within the population. As well as teaching him the richness of what remained of their own culture. Harry's mother was aging more quickly than was natural to their people, beaten down, broken by the loss of home, mate and her other children. It was heart breaking watching as someone he loved slowly faded away, but not unexpected. One day it became too much for his beloved mother to bear any longer and Harry was suddenly left alone. Nobody was surprised, Valkyries often chose to join their mate in the afterlife. Harry's people slowly faded into the human population, only a handful staying with him after his mother passed on. For now, until he was grown, they would have to look after themselves.

For a little while Harry floundered still mourning his loss, but came to learn that even in this his mother had prepared and provided. A human family had been found that he could be adopted into, and continue on with his life. Ironically enough it was a young upper class English family, and so Harry became human for all intents and purposes for many years. They asked him his name and Harry smiled at the irony that was his life, for his parent had chosen a human name for him in deference to his being the first Valkyrie child to be born on Earth.

"My name is Harry."


	3. A Slow Dance of Time

A/N: Warnings for language, vague hints of child abuse, blatant alcohol abuse

Thoughts in Italics

***Dreams, or Flashbacks***

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The first time Harry met Anthony Edward Stark, he was eight years old and had been living with his new human family for roughly a year. They were in sunny California to attend a charity function for a major hospital that was being hosted by Tony's mother Maria Stark. Which in reality was just a flimsy excuse for Harry's wealthy father to try and coax the famous Howard Stark into some business venture or another. It would seem that his own mother and Mrs. Stark had been girls at boarding school together and made arrangements from time to time to catch up, hence the invitation to the charity function. The initial introduction went off without a problem, both boys standing silently in front of their respective mothers.

Trying desperately not to fidget in the stiff, stuffy little suits they had been forced into wearing. _It was so damned hot, and **itchy**!_ To Harry's continuing dismay, the excited ladies went on and on about how their children would be the best of friends and how such a close friendship would surely greatly benefit both of their respective families far into the future. At that point, valiantly holding back a roll of his eyes, Harry tuned out the conversation going on above his head to study the sullen human boy across from him. He took in the dark tousled hair that was cropped short over rather attractively shaped eyebrows and intense, intelligent blue eyes. He had a cute angular nose and lips that were scrunched together in a displeased pout at being caught in his mother's grasp and forced to be still for this ridiculous farce. Taking in the whole disgruntled demeanor of the other child had Harry's lips stretching into a helplessly amused little smile in response. It caused Tony's nose to crinkle adorably as he sighed under his breath and shifted slightly to get his mother's attention.

"Can I take Harry and show him my room now?" Tony asked so sugar sweetly Harry knew it was completely manufactured, and Harry had to bite his bottom lip between perfectly white little teeth to hold in a snort at Tony's antics. Maria looked down at her son with a slight frown, sensing something off, but not knowing just what it was, then glanced at Harry and nodded.

"Play _**nice**_ Tony darling, the Sinclairs are our friends, you'll be seeing Harry again." Tony's spine stiffened slightly in response to the subtle warning and turned back to Harry somewhat impatiently. Harry glanced up at his mother for permission and she nudged him in the other boy's direction with a pleased expression.

"Go on Harry, you need to stop being so shy." Without waiting for a reply she turned back to Maria, hands fluttering excitedly.

"Harry has _**such**_ trouble connecting to other people, the adoption agency told us it would take time, of course. Poor sweet little thing was really _**so**_ very traumatized by whatever happened to his parents. He wouldn't even _**speak to us**_ at first! Can you _**imagine**_?"

She chattered thoughtlessly at Maria, oblivious to the dark blush spreading helplessly and without his permission, across Harry's cheeks at what he considered deeply private information being tossed out and about like it meant nothing at all. Harry clenched his jaw tightly and viciously bit his tongue to keep from biting the flighty woman's head off. She wasn't a bad sort, really, but sometimes he just couldn't stand her when she became gossipy. Alice apparently needed drama like other people needed air to be able to function normally. He was just grateful his mother was for the most part a harmless bit of fluff. Turning his attention back to Tony he noted the sudden glint of curiosity in those sapphire eyes and followed the other boy to the bedroom to play, or whatever, anything at the point to escape his mother.

After some snide subtle barbs casually passed back and forth between them the boys discovered a mutual love of sarcasm, exasperation with being dragged into their mothers social lives and a meeting of like intelligences they hadn't found yet anywhere else. As Tony warmed up to Harry, he began to animatedly show off some of his engineering projects, patiently and happily explaining any questions the green eyed boy had. They passed quite a bit of time this way before exuberant Tony went suddenly still and silent. Glancing up, Harry took in the other boy's tense body language and followed his blue gaze to the open doorway to where Howard Stark was standing, watching them with a closed off, distant expression. Harry's nose tickled and burned unpleasantly as he caught the rather overwhelmingly strong scent of the amber colored liquid in an exquisitely expensive crystal tumbler held carelessly in Howard's left hand. It was barely held by his fingertips, looking about to crash to the ground and shatter everywhere at any moment.

"Harold, your father is looking for you. It's getting late and your mother wants to return to the hotel." He stated, hard brown eyes not even looking in Harry's direction. Howard's unnerving gaze was firmly and waveringly locked on poor unhappy little Tony. Glancing back and forth between them, but not knowing what to do or say, Harry reluctantly got to his feet from the floor where they had been playing and walked towards the door to leave.

"Goodbye Tony." Harry offered softly, circling around the still form of Howard Stark and out the door, holding his breath against the staggering alcohol fumes as he went. He glanced back as he moved down the hallway to the main room, uneasy with the situation he had left behind him. Harry heard muffled voices from the bedroom as he moved further away, only catching a small snippet of the conversation when Howard suddenly raised his voice sharply in a shout, making Harry flinch.

"The Sinclair boy is _**not**_ interested in your juvenile toys or half-assed projects Anthony!"

Harry heard a door slam shut, cutting off any further noise as he made it into the front room where his father waited, looking bored but pleased. His mother still loudly and rapidly gossiped with Maria, as though trying to get as much superficial information out in the air in the least amount of remaining time possible. All of them seemed to have not heard, or were purposely ignoring the drama taking place just down the hallway. They left shortly after that, bundling up in their expensive coats and heading out into the city evening. Harry looking back to the mansion in trepidation as his mother tugged on his hand. _I hope Tony is going to be alright._

Alice, Harry's mother, decided shortly after that to get heavily involved in the various charity foundations that Maria frequented and Harry was often dragged with her on these occasions. She became so busy in fact, that a townhouse was bought in the city that Harry and Alice moved into while his father Jasper traveled between California and London for his businesses. Four years passed in which Tony and Harry saw each other often enough to become, not best friends, but still close, bonding over shared experiences and the embarrassing horrors that were their mothers. They saw one another at various social events many times in a year until Tony's father sent him to a boarding high school for advanced academic students at twelve. Harry lost contact for a while as his own education picked up back in England. Time blurred together until the intense pressure of his schooling and extra tutors made him dizzy. Despite the many demands on Harry's time, energy and attention he blossomed ferociously under the challenge. Jumping ahead in his studies at so quick a pace his mother struggled to find teachers to feed his voracious scholarly appetites. Harry was interested in learning about anything and everything, but his heart was completely captured by the biological sciences.

Their complexities and possibilities excited him beyond measure. _The things I might be able to do for my people!_ He had not forgotten about them, not even a little bit. He saw them often in random places going about their own daily lives while they waited for him to be ready for them and their needs. They were a constant reminder of his duties and the responsibilities he would assume upon his maturity. _I need to be the best I possibly can be for them. I need to find a way for us to blend in safely and comfortably, I need to find a way to safely and securely boost our population too. There's just so **much** to do!_ With these thoughts in mind he dove into the world of world political science thinking with these skills he would be better able to protect them from harm, and navigate around the humans as needed.

With these goals ultimately in mind Harry began to bother his father about his medical research company, wanting more information. At first Jasper was hesitant, but once he realized just how intelligent and interested his son was in his work, he became a fount of resources, delighted beyond measure at his son's enthusiasm. In time in fact, Jasper became **_so_** much so, that Harry secured a legal written promise from the man and his lawyers that upon successful completion of his college education, Harry would be given his own department within the research company to do as he pleased with. It was this same deep burning determined drive that Harry dove into his mother Alice's world of parties, glamour, superficial posturing and networking. His mother nearly combusted and flew over Jupiter in her frantic delight and enthusiasm for his interest. She patiently taught him everything she knew and Harry quickly found himself to be deeply ashamed and distressed at **_how badly_** he had misjudged this woman for _**years**_ in his ignorance. He had often wondered how such an intelligent, driven, if absent minded man like Jasper Sinclair had chosen to marry Alice Bennett, socialite extraordinaire.

The woman was a master at misdirection and manipulation, frighteningly so. Alice was just as fiercely intelligent as her husband, but had chosen to use it in a completely different manner than he had. She flitted about glittering, light-hearted and silly to the point almost everyone found her to be harmless, which was entirely the point. His mother was a **_jaguar_** , a hunter who observed, listened, calculated and **_stalked_** information and people like they were delicious prey for her consumption. She taught him how to move, how to listen, how to smile, what body language to use and when. What to say, who to say it to, who to flirt with and who not to. How to drink socially without drinking too much or too little and appearing rude, and so, _**so**_ much more it boggled his mind. She was harsh and unforgiving in her lessons, they were complicated, frustrating and exhausting but Harry blossomed in this as well, if only at certain points out of sheer damned stubbornness on his part. _I will be what my people need me to be, come hell or high water, no matter the personal cost and this is part of what is needed._

Harry kept himself so busy in those years between his studies, spending time with his father learning everything he could about their company businesses, personal and corporate fortune, his mother's intense social and networking lessons, he hardly slept or even breathed, let alone anything else. Tony Stark, less important in the grand scheme of things Harry was set on accomplishing in his life, faded slowly from his mind until he did not cross Harry's mind anymore at all.

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Pepper Potts is a pretty, precocious, bossy and _**ambitious**_ little girl. She is also smart, determined, and observant. In her own mind she continually snubs the other little girls around her from wealthy families as fluff-headed, gigging, shrieking wastes of her oh so precious time and energy. However, despite this attitude the little redhead is not stupid enough to be really rude to any of them, not any longer anyway. Her mother says they might be important in the future, or marry someone important, and _**that**_ in the long run, is what mattered; not her personal dislike of each and every single snotty one of them. It was one of the first lessons her mother tries to teach her about a woman's social graces. When she is younger, before attending this boarding school she was bullheaded and defiant. So sure of her own superior intelligence. _**Knowing**_ , the way all children do in their perfect wisdom that she is _**smarter**_ than mother, because she is _**only**_ a rich housewife, and Pepper was _**never**_ going to settle for being only a _**housewife**_. Her mother is simply _**wrong**_ , she's _**old**_ , she doesn't know what she is talking about. Except she when _**does**_ , and heavens above does Pepper _**hate**_ being wrong, just as much as she hates not getting her own way, or being ignored. It was the problems this attitude caused that were the main reasons Pepper is being sent off to a far away boarding school.

 _*** Months ago her mother had hosted a small lunch social with a handful of other women with daughters around Pepper's own age. Something about wanting her to be properly **socialized** , like Pepper was some misbehaved **canine** that tinkled on her garishly expensive foyer rug. Pepper' older sister Clara, had sat in the background that day smirking and snickering at Pepper mockingly behind their mother's back while she lectured her on how to behave properly for the event. So the party began with Pepper pissed off about the whole stupid venture to start with, the other little girls had been **mean** , and so **stupid** and judgemental. She'd lost her temper finally at a girl named Bethany, a petite little porcelain doll of a blonde with grey eyes. She doesn't remember everything that happened exactly, just that she had gone for that bright shining crown of hair with a vengeance, she wanted to make Bethany **hurt** , make her just **shut up**! When the screaming catfight had finally been broken up, Pepper's mother had been mortified and furious. Pepper's older sister had looked at her as though she were some sort of **mental patient** that had broken into their home and savaged their guests._

 _Bethany had looked like she had just been mauled by a rabid animal, which, to be honest had rather pleased Pepper at the time to ruin that oh so perfect little **bitch**. Bethany's hair was a tangled mess from where Pepper had ripped it out of its perfect little french braid. Her petal pink and white fancy lace dress was filthy from rolling on the floor and torn in several places. Bethany's make-up was smeared and ruined, looking more like bad paint than anything else. She had been wearing a ridiculous amount anyhow in Pepper's opinion. Bleeding nail scratches and scrapes covered her face and arms, pretty much anyplace Pepper had gotten a hold of her skin. She was bruised, sobbing and completely humiliated in front of the other girls. It was **perfect** , maybe now Bethany would shut the hell up.***_

When Pepper explains to her mother what had gone on with the other girls, she is furious with the woman's response. Her mother is not happy with the other children sure, but she only told Pepper that some girls were always going to be like that, no matter how nice, or how mean Pepper was back to them and Pepper's response is in **_no way_** acceptable. Pepper seethes for days, refusing to speak with her mother or her sister about anything. Her self-righteous anger doesn't bank until she overhears some cleaning staff gossiping in the kitchen pantry while grabbing an apple. Pepper's mother had lost the friendship of those girl's mothers, and her father had lost several business accounts because of her actions at that stupid party. _Because of those stupid girls. Because of stupid Bethany and her stupid fat mouth._ The overheard conversation sends her racing out of the kitchen to her bedroom to muffle her tears into a pillow. _She hadn't meant to hurt her **family** , only that brat Bethany._

And so, a few days later when Pepper's parents sit her down and explain that they enrolled her into a well thought of boarding school she does not fuss, or fight, or argue. She submissively agrees with their plans and remains quiet, subdued in the months that remained until it is time for her to leave. She uses this time to watch, listen and learn about the people around her, instead of bullheading her way through everything, insisting she get her own way. Disturbingly it seemed to work without her putting too much effort into it. People don't seem to expect much of a girl her age other than to be pretty and polite, they begin to warm up to her. It makes her stomach **_curl_** in resentful disgust, but she holds her tongue. Obviously there is much here that she is missing that isn't obvious to her eyes and she's determined to figure it out. If her mother and sister can do this, it should be **_easy_** for Pepper to do it also. There just isn't _**enough**_ time for Pepper to do it however, not in only a few months. She gets the basics, enough to not embarrass herself or her family any longer, but that was all with the limited time available to her. Both of her parents seem to be pleased with her willing progress. Pepper's sister Clara, is still her obnoxious sixteen year old self and is mortified to be anywhere near her or their parents anyway. So nothing has really changed there.

When Pepper meets Tony in her class with the rest of the new students, she thinks little of him really, not any more than any other student at that point. They all are from wealthy families, or have scholarships. They are all exceptionally advanced in their studies, why else would twelve year olds be taking courses in a private high school program? She spends her time concentrating on her studies, which she has always done well in and observing the other children around her. One of the first things she notices about him is that intellectually Tony is ahead of the other students by a noticeable margin, even for them. It makes many of the other children resentful and jealous. They were all used to being smarter than everyone else around them, and being lumped together made them all competitive, even if it also gave them others to bond with that were their equal measure in ways average people just weren't.

The second thing that Pepper notices is that Tony is either completely oblivious to social cues and niceties even worse than she is, or he simply _**did not care**_. Either way it intrigues her immensely and makes her want to be closer to him to observe more, and maybe get him to talk to her. The third thing she notices is that he is **_hopelessly_** disorganized in everything he does, but he somehow manages to pull together every piece of work or project with stunning success, every single time. It took her a long time to figure out how to approach him in a way that he would find non-threatening and might actually give her results, even if doesn't work the first time. Tony is isolated and suspicious of any friendly overtures by the other children. They had tried to mock and bully him at first, but they only ever tried a few times. Tony verbally ripped them into itsy bitsy little pieces each and every single time, sending the other boys scurrying away with their metaphorical tail between their legs. Pepper **_loves_** watching it. It also tells her she needs to proceed with delicate steps, because Tony isn't much nicer to the other girls that try to cozy up to him.

Pepper's plan is so simple and so see-through she hopes it doesn't trigger any alarms in Tony, trying anything else she thinks will have Tony slamming up his personal defenses in an instant. Pepper suspects this will happen anyways, regardless of her initial try. She will attempt to give him nothing to pick apart in her actions, Pepper is going to be blunt and upfront, everything her mother has tried _**so**_ desperately to coach out of her personality. She is convinced that her mother's way was not the way to coax Tony to include her into his little world, otherwise all those other girls would not have failed so spectacularly. She sits down kiddie corner from him at the same lunch table and proceeds to completely ignore him as she pulls out a paper to work on while eating. The students around them hush for several long moments. Pepper keeps her eyes on her lunch and her paper, though she is intensely aware of everything going on around their shared table. Tony stares hard at her for long minutes, gorgeous blue eyes unfriendly, but he says nothing. Pepper continues to ignore him, and eventually Tony tensely goes back to his own lunch and the gossip takes off as though she has walked into the room naked with fireworks.

For a month Pepper does nothing more than this; takes her lunch and sits, doing her homework or a project paper. After the first few times, Tony gets up and simply leaves, throwing his lunch out in the trash can on the way out. Pepper doesn't move or acknowledge his actions at all, continuing her work and meal. Even when he doesn't come to the lunch room at all she sits in the same place, and performs the same actions. Eventually Tony comes back, and when he does the air seems to cautiously relax. Aside from glancing up at him, she still doesn't change her actions. After a few weeks of this Tony finally decides to speak to her.

"What is it exactly that you're after Potts?" Looking up at him, she blinks in apparent confusion at his interrupting of her concentration.

"Excuse me?" Pepper asks, ignoring his mistrustful tone. He frowns at her, disgruntled.

"I said, what do you want? Why do you keep coming over here?" Pepper frowns back at him, huffing in annoyance and setting her pen down crisply. His sharp eyes watch her every move. _He's aware of body language tells then._ She thinks to herself before answering.

"I would think it would be obvious, Stark. This table is quiet, there are no girls constantly bothering me about stupid gossip, there are no pushy boy's trying to flirt with me. I can actually get my work done so I have most of my evening to myself to do whatever I want to. That's why. Now if your majesty is satisfied, I want to finish this before next class if I possibly can." She promptly turned her attention back to the paper she was working on, discreetly watching the boy from under red lashes from one corner of her eye. She's deeply amused by his gobsmacked expression as he just stared at her for a long moment, unsure what to do with her equally rude reply to his questions. She makes **_damned_** sure that her expression doesn't change, that her lips don't smile like they so badly want to. He suddenly tilts his head to one side as he considers her, narrowing his blue eyes as he picks up his fork to poke at his uneaten green beans.

"I think I like you Miss Potts."

"Oh _**joy**_." She replies, tone dry as the Sahara Desert, still not raising her head from her paper. "I'll mark this day on my calendar and celebrate it for the rest of my life."

Tony snorts softly, a little grin tugging at the corner of his lips that he desperately tries to smother. "You totally should you know."

The bell rings for class, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"You're a horse's _**ass**_ Tony Stark." She huffs back at him, quickly gathering her things and tossing out her tray turning to walk away from him.

"And _**you're**_ interesting." Tony mutters to himself, watching her leave with the mass of other students before tossing out his half eaten lunch and grabbing his things to follow the herd.

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**__

In the days, weeks, and months that follow they snark back and forth at each other, slowly becoming closer. Poking, needling one another like some sort of morbid child with a stick and a dead animal, simply unable to leave the other one alone for long. All sorts of rumours began about the two of them, that they hated each other and were at war, or that they were desperately in love and for some reason just couldn't express it being the most popular. The second one has Tony busting out laughing in the middle of a lesson when someone is ballsy enough to question him about it. Laughing so hard he couldn't breathe properly, Tony gets tossed out into the hallway by the aggravated teacher. Tony never does bother to answer. He figures his spectacular response is answer enough because no one bothers to be stupid enough to ask him again.

 _Like I have **time** for girls and their stupid antics and drama. As if **Pepper** does, or is anything **like** those jumped up snotty little tarts. Well... they weren't all of them like that. Helen is a nice, quiet girl, smart too. But I still have **no** interest in any of them. There are more important things to be done._ Pepper for her part doesn't respond to the rumor mill at all unless it's thrown into her face, and then her typical reply is along the lines of asking them if they don't have something actually productive to do with their time. It pisses whoever is pestering her off every single time without fail, which makes her secretly smile when they leave her in an offended huff. Things slowly settle down between them as time continues on. The two of them actually holding conversations instead of trying to annoy one another. Eventually they grow close enough to call one another friends.

One day Tony suddenly stops in the middle of his current after classes project, looking around his working space that Pepper has completely reorganized and realizes that the fiery red-headed girl is his best friend. _When the **hell** did that happen?_ He wonders to himself, gazing around at everything again, dazed. _I can't even **remember** when she redid all of this._ The thought is unsettling enough for him to put down the items in his hands and walk away, sitting down on an empty chair to further consider this turn of events in his life. _When was the last time I even **had** a best friend?_ He contemplated quietly to himself, going over years of various people in and out of his life and couldn't think of a single one that wasn't Harry. Harry had been the only one he would call a best friend, and because they lived so very far apart, it was inevitable that life would pull them away from one another. He didn't hold it against the other boy, it wasn't like either of them could have done anything to have stopped it. Though he misses him terribly, even now sometimes, when he remembers everything.

Those few years of memories are a bittersweet mix for Tony, he'd had Harry so close to him for a while, his very first friend, but it was also the time when his father Howard had gotten really bad. His drinking still continued to spiral out of control from what his mother's letters told him. As much as his mother was distant from Tony, and didn't really want to raise a child, she had risked her own safety to interfere and ship him off to boarding school, away from his father's drunken fists. Not that the man is much better when he is sober. Howard just got meaner as the years progressed on. Nothing Tony had done, or did currently was good enough for the man. All Howard could ever talk about was Captain fucking America. Somehow the ghost of that dead man crept into too many arguments between them, until Tony was beyond sick to death of hearing about him.

Forcing himself to turn his thoughts away from the bubbling cesspool of rage thinking about Howard always brought forth, he considered Pepper again. **_Really_** considered her, Tony was a little bit in awe as to how she had managed to get so smoothly under his skin, he doesn't even resent it once he does realize it. He laughs at himself a little bit, somewhat helplessly. The girl was **_brilliant_** , and he was going to keep her around regardless, for as long as she could stand being his friend. Personal crisis resolved, he gets up to go back to the fledgling beginnings of code he was putting together in his attempt at an AI. Regardless of what everyone else seemed to think on this matter, Tony was going to do it, maybe not on this try or the next attempt but he **_would_** , just because they keep telling him that he **_can't_**. That it's **_impossible_**. Tony believed wholeheartedly in the natural laws of the world, but he didn't believe in impossible.

Tony's friendship with Pepper deepened with the years they spent together at the same boarding school, but like everything else it was bound to change with time. Tony graduated the accelerated learning program at the boarding school a year earlier than her, spending only three years instead there of the usual four. At fifteen, he left her behind for the time being, to begin his college life at MIT.


	4. Reconnecting What Was Lost

_A/N: Warnings for language, underage drinking and alcohol abuse_

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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Harry looks around his new apartment with a tired but pleased smile. He finally got here after all the damned flight delays, his little cottage is a gem. He doesn't know when or how his mother found this little beauty so close to MIT campus but Harry was grateful to have his own space instead of sharing a dorm room with another international student. It would have made letting his wings out to relax pretty much impossible, not that Alice knew about them at all in the first place.

It wasn't a large place nor is it brand new, it's clean and in well maintained shape, more than enough for what he wants. With two bedrooms, a small living-room, a single bathroom and a tiny kitchen, it will suit him for the next few years it is going to be home. Harry is a little in love with it already. Grinning happily Harry turns to the first box to begin unpacking his books and other things. Luckily his mother hired a designer, he couldn't remember their name. To pick out the furniture and simple decor was not something Harry would categorize as fun or high on his list of priorities. His only immediate worry is unpacking his personal belongings and ordering dinner from the Chinese place he saw a few blocks over. _Maybe I'll walk over to pick it up if it's not too late._ He thinks to himself as he opens cabinets to see how much space he has to play with in the kitchen. There are six in total, and only two are full of plates, glasses and pans. The others, he is startled to discover, are filled with his preferred vegetarian foods. Frowning a little he goes over to the fridge and opens the door, finding it full stocked. _Well then. I see mother has been busier than I thought. Looks like I'm cooking dinner instead._

Shrugging, Harry closes the door and moves back into the living room, locking the front door, he grabs his bags and pulls them into the main bedroom to put away his clothes. He'll come back to the books in the living room in a minute. There are already linens on the bed and heavy curtains on the single window to block out early morning sunlight, which looked like it would fall directly onto the bed and into his eyes.

"Good choice." Harry mutters to himself in approval. He hated early mornings with a passion, but they were a necessary evil that didn't need to be added to by sunlight stabbing him in the eye.

Harry considers the other windows in the cottage as he's pulling open the closet door and hanging up his shirts. They would need heavier curtains too, so he could close them when he released the spell hiding his wings from touch and sight. A slow grin slid across his lips at the thought of his wings; which had finally, finally grown in its adult feathers instead of the sooty colored juvenile ones that didn't let him fly very high or very far. As Harry had thought previously, they hadn't remained that soft speckled gray, but had grown in black as pitch with alternating under wing feathers that glimmered deep green when sunlight hit them in full display. They were large, and stunning, and he was ridiculously proud of them. While a darker color than his Valkyrie mother's, who'd had soft brown with shining gold highlights, he had inherited her iridescent feather pattern. His were a rich green instead of her gleaming gold, but they were still breathtakingly eye catching, and he knew they would very well please a mate when he displayed for them.

Clothes put away Harry returns to the living room for the box of books he opened previously, stacking them on the bookshelf, then moving on to unpacking his electronics. Once that was completed he empties the other couple of boxes, which contains photos and other homey things and calls it a night. Gazing around Harry wonders about the memories he will make in this place, the people he will meet on campus and in classes. He wonders if any of them will be Valkyrie.

Since Harry was little they had watched him, but had kept their distance. At first Harry had felt abandoned by them, hurt and a little angry, but as he got older he realized why they had chosen to do things this way. They wanted him to have as normal and healthy childhood as he could given their situation here on earth. They were still looking after him, he felt that they always would. It wouldn't be long before they return to Harry now that he has his adult flight feathers. Soon, he felt things were going to become busier than they had ever been before. Now would be the time to begin reconnecting with them. When Harry finishes his education and moves into the research fields, then he can begin making changes for them. Helping them in a way that was meaningful and not just as figurehead; a symbol of a home world they had lost, a ruling family that was nearly destroyed and broken, a reminder of billions of loved ones lost and the near extinction of their own race. Harry would build their numbers back up as rapidly, and as safely as he could to begin with, but for that he would need his degree. Valkyrie are a long lived race and not prone to having children nearly as often as humans do. It would take some manipulating of their genes to do what he hoped he could do, and jump start their fertility.

Mentally shaking himself from his thoughts Harry turns to go into the kitchen, intending to pull out some vegetables and make a simple stir fry with rice for dinner. Classes were going to begin in the next couple days. Harry wanted to be rested and a little more familiar with the college campus, so in the morning he intended to take the campus map and go exploring. Pulling out his cell phone while he worked he checked the time, it was six now, which meant it was eleven in London, he hit the speed dial. His parents would still be up for another hour or so before his mother dragged his father away from his work for sleep.

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It was halfway through his freshman year that Tony ran into James Rhodes at some sports party. Literally ran into him, knocking his drink down the front of him as Tony drunkenly staggered in an attempt to keep his feet.

"What the hell, man?!" James shouted, staring down at his soaked shirt before glaring at Tony. Tony blinked at him stupidly a few times, trying to figure out which version of the older boy was the real one.

"Ugh...sorry?" He slurred, shoving his own drink into Rhodes hands.

"Here, you can have this one." Rhodes hesitantly took the drink, staring in unease at Tony.

"No, its okay...it was an accident. Hey are you okay kid?" The dark skinned boy asked, absently setting the drink aside as Tony dropped heavily into the nearest chair with a groan.

"I'm fine." Tony mumbled, waving one hand at him while resting his head in the other.

"Just have a headache." He grumbled, closing his eyes against the light and noise as if it would help.

"No, you're drunk off your ass, c'mon. I'll get you out of here. C'mon." Rhodes reached down to pull a reluctant and protesting Tony out of the chair and through the house seeking an exit.

"Where are you taking me? You're not really my type buddy, so leggo." Tony stumbled as he attempted to pull his arm away, nearly face planting into a wall before Rhodes catches him.

"I'm not hitting on you kid. Jesus, you're drunk as hell. You're going to be hating life later." Rhodes carefully maneuvered them through throngs of people to where he remembered the door being, it was slow progress with Tony being as inebriated as he was. Eventually he found the exit and pulled Tony out into the cool night air, taking a couple fresh breaths himself, for a second he let go of Tony. James wrinkled his nose in disgust as the nasty sound of retching came from behind him, he kept his back turned until the sounds stopped and Tony made a pitiful noise of distress.

"At least I got you out of the house first." He muttered under his breath, turning back to check on him. Tony was leaning heavily against the side of the house, like it was the only thing allowing him to keep his legs.

"Oh boy." Rhodes sighed moving over to grab his arm again, firmly but gently. " C'mon kid, don't pass out on me now, we still have to walk down the street a little first."

Tony made a garbled reply that he didn't bother to try and sort out and tugged him down the road, keeping a sharp eye on his balance. If he ever found out who had handed this kid alcohol he was going to bust their head in, he was too young to be on campus alone this late, never mind at that party. Rhodes snorted to himself in anger as Tony stumbled against him again, almost sending them both into the bushes.

"Almost there, just a little a little further. Then you can lay down on the couch for a while." He coaxed to get Tony moving again. The kid whined at him in protest, but started moving when he tugged. Grimly he pulled Tony to his front door, letting him lean against the door frame as he fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Alright, here we go...inside kid." Gently he led him into the living room where the couch was and had him sit down.

"Names Tony, not kid." Tony leaned his head back against the back of the couch, closing his eyes.

" Uh huh…" Rhodes replied absently as he went about gathering a pillow and blanket, dropping them on the other end of the couch. Then he knelt down in front of Tony and started untying his shoes. Tony picked his head up as he felt Rhodes tugging on the laces.

" Hey..where are we? You're really not my type man, I should go home." Tony tried to push himself up off the couch and failed miserably.

"You're in the apartment I'm renting, and I'm not hitting on you Tony, I'm taking your shoes off so you can sleep." Managing to get one shoe and tossing it aside he went for the other one.

"Sleep?" Tony repeated blankly, blinking slowly as he struggled to stay awake and aware.

"Yeah sleep. That thing you do with your eyes closed? You're lucky it was me you ran into and not somebody else, kid. Tonight could have gone very badly for you." He pulled the last shoe off and tossed it with the other one, standing and grabbing the blanket.

"Lay down Tony, you'll feel better if you get some rest." He lied through his teeth, the kid was going to feel like dog shit when he woke up. Tony laid down silently, apparently at the end of his tolerance for argument, and Rhodes covered him with the blanket then turned to fetch a trash bin for the kid to puke in if he needed to.

"Who are you?" Came the soft question from the couch. He turned back.

"James Rhodes, but you won't remember it when you wake up." He rubbed a hand tiredly over his eyes, it had been a long day, and it was going to be a longer night as he stayed up to make sure the kid didn't die choking on his own vomit.

"I'll remember." Tony responds sleepily. James doesn't comment, just goes and gets the trashcan, when he comes back, Tony is already out. James spends the night in the armchair to be sure the kid keeps breathing through the night.

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It was afternoon before Tony's body wakes him violently with the unhappy need to expel its guts. Luckily the trashcan was literally right in front of his face, because he is nowhere near coherent in that horrible moment. After what seems like an eternity of painful torture his stomach calms down enough for him to feel his head pounding like someone has taken a hammer to his skull a few times. It is everything he can do to concentrate on breathing properly for a few moments.

"I see Sleeping Beauty is awake." An unrecognized voice came from his right, causing Tony to instinctively tense. He lifted his head in this person's direction with an absolutely vile glare. Which would have had more impact if Tony didn't look like a bedraggled tramped on and pissed off cat with his hair sticking up. Rhodes bit back a tired smile, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated.

"Rhodes." Tony bit out grumpily after a long moment of looking at him. James arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"So you did remember. You were pretty trashed last night." Tony just grunts in reply and slowly eases away from the trash can, snatching up the glass of water and aspirin James had left on the side table.

"You want me to call your parents to pick you up Tony?" The kid gave him a baleful glare again.

"First off, my parents wouldn't given a damn, they live out in California anyway, and second, I'm a student here Rhodes." James blinked a few times in surprise.

"But…" He started, only for Tony to cut him off with a sigh.

"Yes, I'm as young as I look. I'm fifteen, no that does not mean you can boss me around, and no that does not mean I'm going to stop going to parties sometimes." Tony states bluntly.

James snaps his mouth shut with a snap and just looks at Tony for a few moments, considering his options. He could report him and possibly ruin Tony's academic career and have the kid hate him. He could patch him up and send him on his way for the kid to likely end up hurt or in trouble anyway. Or, he can let this go for now and try to stick around, curb what he could and pull his butt out of the line of fire if he needs too. He has a feeling the kid will need him too. Nodding mentally to himself in resolve he turns his attention back to Tony, who is looking at him with wary eyes and a raised eyebrow.

"You want some toast kid?"

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Harry is sitting at his little kitchen table reading one of his course books and ignoring his Ramen when his doorbell rings. Lifting his head with a curious blink Harry sets his fork down and stands, walking over to peek through the window. There were two men he didn't know standing on his doorstep. Both are shades of blonde, with clean shaven faces, jeans, sneakers and t-shirts, one has a light jacket hanging off one arm. Frowning, Harry cautiously cracked open the door to peek at them.

"Yes?" He asks, as he opens the door a tiny bit wider so he can see both of them better.

"Harold Sinclair?" The one on the left asks, he looks to be in this thirties, a little bit older than the twenty something, on the right and has brown eyes.

"Who's asking?" He demands softly. The younger one shifts slightly, and Harry realizes that he's been staring at him for some reason ever since he's opened the door. Nerves have Harry tightening his grip on the door handle, ready to slam the door in their faces if he needed to. Something about these two was strange, and he didn't know what it was.

"Your mother asked us to come see you." The older one answered, nudging the younger with his elbow with a slight frown. The younger blinked, breaking his stare and blushed, dropping his gaze.

"I very seriously doubt that. You can leave now." Harry went to shut the door in their lying faces when the older man spoke again, his words stopping Harry in his tracks.

"I was not referring to Alice."

Harry frowned, looking at them hard before slowly opening the door, and stepping back, motioning them silently for them to come in. When they did he closed it firmly behind them before turning back. The older man held out his hand in greeting.

"My name is Kiran, this is my younger brother Meloth."

Harry took the offered hand, clasping at the wrist rather than the palm the way humans did, feeling Kiran's fingers curl about his own wrist in return. They held the gesture for a few seconds in politeness before dropping their hands away.

"You aren't part of my usual watchers." Harry stated, offering for them to sit with a gesture of his hand and taking a seat on the couch himself. Both accepted the offer without comment on it, Kiran continuing the conversation while Meloth remained silent.

"You are correct my Prince, we are not. The community felt that at this age you would be old enough for further training. I am here to offer myself and my brother as combat and flight instructors." Kiran leaned forward in his seat as he spoke, resting his arms on his knees. Meloth was back to studying him intently, but it wasn't as disturbing now that he had an idea why.

"Okay?" Harry agrees hesitantly, uncertain where all this was going. Kiran smiles reassuringly at him. Silently Meloth stands, walking about the room and drawing all the curtains tightly closed.

"Uhm?" Harry offers, not sure what exactly is going on, Meloth doesn't answer him, but Kiran does.

"Just a moment of patience my Prince and you will understand." Kiran stands and moves to the center of the living room. Once all the curtains are secured he drops his glamour, revealing large, dusty brown and white wings. Meloth moves over in the general vicinity and also drops the spell, revealing his own chocolate brown. Harry's eyes widen, taking in each detail happily. Not since he was a young child has he seen another of his own kind up close. No one else with wings. Now he had two Valkyrie in his living room and he was completely lost on what to do to not seem rude. Luckily Kiran comes to his rescue once again.

"This is so that you are sure we are not lying to you my Prince. I will teach you how to recognize one of our own, that aren't your watchers, without having to have the glamour down as proof."

Absently Harry nodded, getting to his feet and stepping closer.

"Can I?" He asks softly, gesturing towards their wings. They share a glance and Meloth finally speaks up.

"You may walk around and look at them, but never touch without permission. Asking such is extremely personal, so do not do so lightly, you might offend someone you don't mean to."

Curiosity burning through him, Harry circles back to take a closer look. Their wings were larger than his own, which made him wonder if that meant anything, and they didn't seem to have any of the iridescent feathers that he and his mother shared. Their wings weren't fully open though, so perhaps there were some on the underside. Circling back to the front of Meloth, he tried to peer to see the underside to find if any feathers were there. Harry starts when Meloth growls and takes a step back away from Harry. Confused, Harry steps back himself, an apology on his lip automatically, though he didn't know what he did wrong. Kiran's voice quiets him before it leaves his mouth.

"Calm yourself Meloth, he doesn't know any better." The words seem to slowly settle Meloth, whose feathers have fluffed up in agitation. Harry looked back and forth between them as Meloth calmed down.

"What did I do? I didn't touch." He points out, backing up another couple of steps.

"You were seeking to look at more than you were invited to my Prince." Kiran replied gently.

Harry's lips turn down in a frown of confusion. " I don't understand."

"I know." Kiran gestured for Meloth to sit back down, and he did so without comment, tucking his wings tightly behind him so they weren't squashed. Kiran turns back to Harry with an amused grin.

"Trying to glimpse the underside of another's wings without permission or invitation is about the same as trying to look up a human woman's skirt without her permission, my Prince."

Harry's green eyes widened in horror, looking over at Meloth he blushed darkly. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry! But, wait..what about when flying? Can't everyone see the underside then?"

Meloth cracked a faint smile in return. " Don't worry about it, I'm fine. But you might get smacked if you try it again. What were you looking for anyway?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment, shifting in place. " The feathers, I was looking for the iridescent feathers."

Meloth frowns at him in confusion. "I've never seen feathers like what you're describing before. Why would you be looking for them?"

Kiran cuts in before Harry can answer. "There were rumours that the Queen had such feathers." He was looking at Harry with intensity, considering. "As for your question, the unspoken rule is to simply not stare and do not comment. Seeing the underside of another's wings while flying is something that truly can't be avoided. However it is not commented on in polite conversation. Will you show us your wings my Prince?"

Harry blinked, then nodded. "Oh yes, of course. How rude of me." Without further thought he drops the glamour, opening his wings a little bit for them to see his iridescent green undersides, missing Meloth's shocked expression to his disregard. Kiran seems a bit stunned as well, but covers it better, concentrating on the topic at hand.

"I see what you mean. To answer your curiousity my Prince, not many have feathers like this. I would strongly advise you to not so willingly show them off as you have just now, however, it would be taken as extremely forward."

"Forward?" Harry asked, not sure he understood what Kiran was trying to politely imply. This time Meloth jumps in before Kiran can answer.

"What would the reaction to a human woman walking down the street in lingerie be?"

Harry blushed again. "Oh, so showing them like this is personal too?" Kiran nodded. Harry quickly folded up his wings, tucking them behind him self-consciously.

"Its alright Harry, these things are part of what your continued training will be. You didn't grow up the traditional way our children would have before." Kiran tries to soothe him, walking over to sit down again, Harry following suit.

"It's still embarrassing." Harry grumbled good naturedly. Kiran laughed at him softly, a rich sound that was nice to the ears.

"No more than any other curious child would be my Prince. The only difference is they do such things younger. Displaying your wings so openly like that is normally reserved for mates and done privately to...entice a your partner."

Harry crosses his arms as he leans back, turning his face away as his blush returns and deepens with every word. "Oh...so, how would you know you've met your mate anyhow?"

"You're too young for it now, but when you reach twenty one and onwards you will be eligible. It varies a little bit from person to person, much like human courtship does in the beginning stages. It is not something you instantaneously know when meeting someone, but given a little bit of time and getting to know the prospective partner, you will instinctively know who to show your wings to and when. I know that might not help much, but it really is like that. Some know within a few hours, some know one another for years before they know. It's not a precise science with right and wrong formula. Bonding is a very private, very intense time. Most partners develop a few metaphysical side effects from this bonding. Such as limited empathy, or limited telepathy. The breaking of such a deep connection in devastating. " Kiran pauses in his explanation, a strange look coming over his face as he gazes at Harry

"So don't flash my wings at anyone like I did before unless I get some mystical urge? Thanks, that didn't clarify matters much right now. What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry demands nervously.

"I don't suppose anyone has told you that Valkyrie go into a dry heat from time to time on a regular basis have they?"

"Excuse me?!" Harry yelped, nearly coming out of his seat. Kiran sighed in apparent distress himself.

"I was afraid of that. Yes, a non-fertile heat, some Valkyrie find discreet partners, some lock themselves away and spend it alone. More of us are finding casual human partners that don't look to much into it. You will only be fertile for your mate, so that will not be a concern and you will not have that sort of cycle until the bond has been settled for a bit of time."

"Oh my god," Harry breathes in horror "I did not just get "The Talk" a second time in my life from a complete stranger. Alice was traumatizing enough."

Meloth muffled a snort behind his hand. " You so did." Kiran reaches over to smack him casually on the back of the head.

 _This makes thing so much more difficult._ Harry thought to himself, still reeling from his unpleasant shock. _If Valkyrie can only produce children with their mates, how in the hell am I going to boost our numbers on this planet? Fertility manipulation won't do a damned thing if no one will use it._ "Just how many of us are there on Earth?"

Kiran tilted his head, seeming curious about the question, but answers anyway. "There were over fifteen thousand of us that followed your mother down to the surface of the planet. Many more are still on the ship, waiting for your signal for the next group that it is safe to come. That the humans won't notice another large group increasing their population."

Harry stared at him, unsure how to process this information for a moment. There are more of us just sitting on a spaceship somewhere? That seriously needs to be fixed, soon. "How many of us on Earth are mated?"

Kiran raises his eyes to stare slightly above Harry's head as he considers with a soft hum. "Exact numbers I'm not sure my Prince, but I would estimate roughly half of us by now. Only a hundred or so children have been born after you however."

Harry nods, having expected a low birthrate number. They have not been on earth very long really all things considered. They were blending in smoothly and quickly for only fifteen years on the surface. "How many are on the ship? And how quickly can they be integrated here with the others without notice?"

Kiran refocuses his gaze on Harry, pulling himself back from where ever his thoughts had wandered for a moment. "Roughly another fifteen thousand last I knew. I am uncertain as to the number of mated Valkyrie there. I do know that there were more young ones in the second group. They were kept on the ship until safer passage could be had. As for integrating them, it can be done now that the first group is mostly settled and we have more resources to hide them from the humans straight away. But, it will take time to set up my Prince, and you would need to go to them and bring them down to the surface yourself with a small group to help. Seeing you would greatly reassure them."

"So I would need to leave the planet to go to them, how would that be done? Where are they anyway?" Harry inquired, not sure how he felt about leaving the planet and going into space.

"It would not be a fast trip my Prince, the journey would take several Earth years. Two to get to the ship, and two to return to Earth. You would need to find some way to account for this time you are missing. As for the Valkyrie ship, it is cloaked in hiding behind the moon the humans call Pluto. At the edge of this system."

Harry blinked. "Years. I'll be in space for years? Wait, how did we reach Earth before I was born if my mother was in the early stages of pregnancy with me? Its a huge distance from here to the Gemini System. I'll have to think about that more, that's a lot of time be be missing without a really good reason."

Kiran nods. "Yes, a much longer distance to travel than where you will need to go my Prince. The ship is on the edges of this system. The reason this shorter distance will take longer is actually rather simple. Fuel. We exhausted all of the fuel on the mother ship to get the first landing party down to earth. Since then, we have only what we can substitute from earth to use to use. Its not anywhere as efficient as what we had on our home world, thus, the journey will take longer that it otherwise would have. We've had to overhaul the landing ship to be able to even use the substitute."

Meloth swiftly switches the conversation to something else, pulling Harry from his plotting before he can ask more questions. "Going back to the reason we are here my Prince. We'll have to sit down and work around your class schedule and study needs. We're completely at your disposal right now, until we feel your training is complete. It will take some years I think, to cover everything you will need to know, between flight, combat and social etiquette. Some of it doesn't matter anymore sadly, it just doesn't apply to this world, but there are other things you will need."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He had a feeling his world was about to turn upside down again, just when he thought he might have a handle on it. "Alright, let's started then, I guess."


	5. A Life Remembered

_A/N: Warnings for language, graphic child abuse, alcohol abuse, underage drinking, mentions of drug abuse, mentions of an eating disorder caused by stress, mentions of murder, also, Slashy Smut._

Thoughts in Italics

 _***Dreams or Flashbacks***_

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Harry jerks awake with a short scream; frantically clawing to get out from the suffocating tangle of his blankets and ends up tumbling off his bed with a loud thump. He doesn't register the sharp hot flash of pain as he scrambles away from the bed until he finds cover behind the armchair in the corner of his bedroom. Trembling, his back is pressed tightly against the wall. His bright green eyes, pupils blown wide and dark, searching every inch of the dark room. For long minutes, he does nothing more than shake and quiver in adrenaline fueled by fright, his breathing is ragged, sounding like a wounded animal. The harsh noise is the only sound in the quiet room.

Eventually his breathing and body start to calm a little at a time. Still wary, his eyes still search the room as the sky outside his window slowly lightens with the early morning. Birdsong starts to filter through, along with the traffic of the morning commute as it begins to get louder. _Everything is in the same place it was when you went to bed, there is no one else here with you, you're alone Harry. Get a grip on yourself. There is nothing to be afraid of._

Except no matter how many times he tries to tell himself, he is not able to talk himself out of it. His mind refuses to accept that his nightmares could have been a reality at one point. The images haunt him even in daylight, just like the others he's had each and every day now for a solid month. His sleep is affected, only catching a few hours here and there. Never more than a few hours at a time. Most days Harry is too tired to eat, he has lost his appetite. Classes are torture to get through, never mind the homework, but Harry forces himself. The last thing he needs to do is fall behind, because he knows with a double major he will not be able to catch back up.

Slowly, Harry crawls from his protected corner out from behind the armchair. Getting to his feet he picks up the discarded blanket and tosses it back on the bed. Shuffling like some B-rated zombie, Harry goes into the bathroom to turn on the shower. While waiting for the water to heat up he takes a moment to stare at himself in the mirror. His hair is dull, and while clean, it's lost some of its natural healthy gloss. His skin is paler than usual for him, and his vibrant green eyes are dull with dark circles from exhaustion. Turning away from the sight Harry strips down, tosses his clothes back into the bedroom, not caring where they land. Because of the lack of sleep and appetite Harry's lost weight with the added stress. It's not gone unnoticed by others around him. Harry's face is the most noticeable of his weight loss, not to mention the way his clothes are starting to hang on his body. Harry makes a mental note to force himself to eat a bit more at lunch. The mere thought of eating anything causes his stomach to churn violently. The images are burned into his brain, the horrors that jolted him awake. They won't leave Harry, making his body rebel and his mind relive them over and over in an unrelenting loop.

 _*** He was locked in his dark cupboard for two days and was grateful for the reprieve. He was not fed in those two days, not even a drop of water to wet his dry and chapped lips. Harry was able to rest his overworked and sore body. Every inch of him ached fiercely as he lay there in his threadbare, moth eaten blanket on the wood floor. He tries to concentrate on breathing in and out. His cracked ribs screamed at him. This week was bad. Dudley had come home sick from a friend's house after staying there the whole weekend. Petunia handed Harry a long list of chores so she could hover over her precious Duddums. The miniature land whale purposely whined and complained every hour of the day, and Harry had been forced to stop whatever he was in the middle of and wait on him hand and foot if demanded. By the end of each day chores went unfinished. For all his troubles Harry received no food from his Aunt that night. To make it worse his Uncle Vernon came home in a bad mood. The first thing he did when he saw Harry, before Aunt Petunia could say a word, was sock Harry in the face. Harry's head whipped to the side as he fell to the ground and scrambled back trying to get away from his uncle. "You ungrateful little shit!" Uncle Vernon yells in his face._

 _Aunt Petunia ignores Harry's cry of pain and goes on to tell her husband of how lazy Harry is, blaming him for getting Dudley sick with his freakishness. Rage fills his uncle's face and he bends down with his fat fingers and reaches for Dudley's cricket bat. Stomps over to Harry and swings it at his ribs, cracking it in three different places. Harry's throat grew raw from his cries and screams. Aunt Petunia failed to mentioned that despite attending to Dudley, he'd had to clean the house, make dinner, and attend to her prized garden in a span of twelve hours. Uncle Vernon kept upping his hate for Harry with each swing of the bat, no part of his body went untouched. Harry grew weak, unable to defend himself or even cry out. The last thing he remembers before the passing out is the glee on his Aunt Petunia's face._

 _Each day that passed Harry's body grew weaker, the chores harder to do, which meant a lesser chance of eating. Then Uncle Vernon lost an important contract for his company. Aunt Petunia decided to take Dudley to the clinic because his fever had spiked. A deep pit of dread settled in Harry's stomach. Being alone with Uncle Vernon while he was angry were some of the worst days of Harry's life, Harry lived in terror of them._

 _Vernon didn't bother with the belt, simply beat and kicked Harry in his already cracked ribs with his bare hands until Harry lay limply on the floor because he didn't have the strength to move away. His uncle yelled insults and vulgarity the entire time. When he finally ran out of steam Vernon walked into the kitchen and rummaged around. He came back with a book of matches, Harry whimpers softly in panic at the sight of them. Vernon fished a pack of smokes from his jacket pocket and gave Harry a sadistic grin. Harry turned his face away and screamed as the older man lit and burned him with the cigarettes and dragged it in his skin, burning his flesh. Laughing while Harry pleads and begs for him to stop. Harry lost count of the number of times that piercing red scorching heat touched his skin, only realizing it had stopped when Vernon grabbed a fistful of his dirty hair and dragged him by it into the kitchen. Harry is dizzy with pain and weak from lack of nourishment, he could not put up much of a fight. Vernon dropped him in the middle of the tile floor. There in front of him was some left overs from the trash on a plate and a glass of spoiled milk._

 _"You've been a good lad Harry, go ahead and eat it, then you can go to your cupboard." Vernon offered, voice suddenly mild. Harry looked up at him, hesitant. "Eat it boy or you'll get nothing else for days."_

 _Silent tears slipped down his sunken, bruised cheeks as he forced himself to reach out hand to pull the items closer. Picking up a half eaten piece of chicken Harry finally lost what little composure he had left and bolted it down, along with everything else on the plate, ignoring the smell and rotten taste. Food was fuel, food meant survival for another day. His stomach churned unpleasantly as Harry gulped down the glass of milk, gagging at the sour taste that is foul and burned his throat like acid all the way down. He ignored the strange pink residue on the bottom of the glass. He knew when the burning in his stomach increased that he'd fallen for some nasty trick. Groaning in agony Harry shoved the rest of the half rotten food away, holding his stomach._

 _"Don't you dare puke on my floor boy or I'll bury you in the back yard!" Vernon bellowed, suddenly enraged again. He grabbed Harry by the hair again and yanked him viciously to his feet to scream more insults into his face, then shoved him at the sink._

 _"Wash the breakfast dishes!" The man snarled before storming out into the living room and blasting the telly. Harry struggled to do his task, fought his hardest to keep his belly settled. But eventually it just couldn't be held down any longer and Harry violently emptied his guts onto the floor. He couldn't stop even when Vernon came back into the kitchen and shoved him down into it._

 _"Clean up this mess you Freak! Clean it up now! How dare you waste perfectly good food!" With a swift kick to the sick Harry's side Vernon went to the pantry, came back with the mop and bucket, and threw them in the child's face. Clumsily Harry set about cleaning the sick off the floor, while Vernon hovered in the doorway like an obese vulture until the boy was done. Only then was Harry allowed to go back to his cupboard, by crawling on his hands and knees. There he was sick the rest of the day, locked in, and left alone.***_

Harry jolts back to the present as his body shudders in protest of the icy water he's apparently been standing in for some time. Pushing bile back down he reaches a shaking hand out to turn off the water and climb out of the shower stall. Forcing himself to dry off and dress hurriedly, he gathers his things for class and leaves early, regardless of the time. He definitely will not be able to eat or look at breakfast the same again for a few days after that horrible nightmare, what Harry fears the most is that it really happened. The question is when? At this point he needs to get away, to be around other people. Or not flinch or jump like a scared cat when someone he knows touches him. Harry puts his head in his hands and pushes back tears that threaten to fall. _I need to do something, anything just so I do not remember, even for a little while._

That night, unable to face sleeping and the nightmares it would bring. Harry picks up a flyer for some off campus party and decides to go. Fully intending to get so wasted he could hardly see straight before coming back home for the weekend. _Maybe then I'll be able to sleep and not dream._

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By the end of Tony's first school year he'd earned his party animal reputation. Tonight was no different from any other night in a long string of parties. Tony was slightly drunk, Rhodey was off somewhere dancing with some cute girl with pretty eyes and a short skirt and the rock music was blasting. Many people were out in the larger rooms dancing and drinking. All in all, it was a good time. Tony is casually coming downstairs to the main floor after leaving a dynamite blonde bunny with huge tits happily satisfied and gossiping with a girlfriend she had run into upstairs. Pausing on the steps to look out over the room Tony squints his sapphire eyes as he spots something he never thought he would see again, or rather, someone. With a disbelieving frown Tony marked the place this person was and as quickly as he could wove through the crowd, occasionally shoving someone out of his way, to reach them. Coming up behind a slender dark haired male in painted on blue jeans and a button down, he reached out to grab the other's arm firmly, pulling him around so that Tony could get a better look at his face to confirm his suspicions.

"Hey what the hell?!" Harry shouted, staggering as someone yanked on his arm. Pulling his attention from watching a sexy, slinky brunette with mile long legs to die for, wriggling her way around the dance floor. Opening his mouth to yell at whoever the fuck was bothering him again, he pauses, girl forgotten in an instant, as he blinks in shock at the widely grinning fool standing oh so casually in front of him. His widening green eyes swiftly swept up and down the other's frame just to verify that, no, Harry wasn't hallucinating. "Tony? Tony Stark?"

The blue eyed boy laughed in pleased delight at the other's shock, but took note of how skinny the other was, how dark his eyes were. How over all worn down, sick and exhausted Harry looked. "What are you doing here Harry? Shouldn't you be in England?"

Harry shook his head in the negative, a happy smile finally lighting up his face a bit. "No. I started here in the fall this past year, been here for a while. Where the hell have you been?"

Tony arched a brow, making a gesture with his hand that they should go out onto the patio where they wouldn't have to shout to be heard. Grabbing another couple beers off a nearby drink table, Tony headed out with Harry following close behind him. When they got outside they took over a couple of cheap plastic lawn chairs and sat down. "I've been here all year too, but I've never seen you on the hardcore party scene."

Harry took a long sip of his drink when Tony offered it to him. "Well, I've definitely been here." He answered back with a tired smile, so glad to see his friend again after so long. Tony looked good, happy and healthy and just vibrating with energy. Harry silently wished he could borrow some of that energy for himself.

"We've obviously just been missing each other then. Good God. Well then, it's been way the fuck too long, so, I say we start going to these parties together. Problem solved. I have to have you meet Rhodey! He's a complete and totally huge mother hen, but not bitchy about it. You'll love him!" Tony was nearly bouncing in his seat as he went off in a tangent about this Rhodey person. Harry just let him talk, listening quietly as Tony jumped from subject to subject, gathering more steam as he went. _God I'd forgotten how badly I missed Tony. I have to make sure we don't lose touch again._

That night was the beginning of them reconnecting after too many years apart. Shortly after leaving the party they went to another Tony had heard of from someone in one of his classes. They left Rhodey behind somewhere in the crowd without a word, both of them too focused on the other to remember to say anything to him.

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The year quickly passed on, into the next one and the year after that, with the two popular boys thick as thieves once again, just like they were as children, only this time around, Rhodey was a new addition to their close little circle. Tony and Harry continuously party hopped from event to the next most nights when they didn't have to spend time in class, studying, working on projects or in Harry's case training for his Valkyrie duties. Tony after his initial observation of the state of his friend's poor health quickly got distracted again by the alcohol, girls and other party drugs, though Harry was right there in the thick of it with him the entire time. Rhodey, the good friend that he was, was constantly there reining them both in as best he could when things started to go too far.

Harry weight and sleep still suffered, because he finally realized that his dreams are now memories of his former life. The only way to escape was to drink until he could only feel numb. Tony was not kidding when he said Rhodey was a mother hen, he must have realized Harry was not eating properly. The guy is always trying to coax him into eating something; at all hours of the day he would have something in his pocket for the emerald eyed boy. All Harry ever had to do was ask, or even mention that he was hungry and it would be in his hand in the next second. Harry never called him out on it, knowing very well just how thin he was. Sometimes he even let Rhodey convince him to eat whatever the older boy was offering when at the apartment he and Tony apparently shared, regardless of how sick he felt afterwards.

Tony, drugs and alcohol helped him keep his mind far away from the memories he wanted to avoid. But at some point he knew in the back of his mind that things were going to come to a head sometime in the near future. Harry ignored his subconscious' continued warnings as best he could, not knowing what else to do. It wasn't like he could talk to anyone about them. So in the end, while Harry's grades were in the top of his class, he had a new strong connection of friendship to James Rhodes, and his friendship with Tony was deeper than ever. Harry himself was slowly but surely unraveling a little more step by step each day until something had to give way.

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The boys were sitting on Harry's couch, both more than a little drunk, watching some god awful trashy reality show, at whatever the hell time it was in the too early morning. Harry sprawled out with his head resting on the back of the couch lazily, staring blankly at the TV. Tony was leaning against his side, one leg curled under his bottom, the other stretching out, he had his head resting on Harry's shoulder. On the coffee table were open half eaten containers of take-out food that had been sitting there for a while, scattered here and there were various alcohol containers. Some empty, some not. The apartment was quiet aside from the TV and their soft breathing, the lights were off, and Tony was absently playing with the ends of Harry's long hair, which was currently braided.

"Has anyone ever told you that you'd be a really hot girl, Harry?" Tony blinked, not sure why that had suddenly come out of his mouth.

Harry lifted his head slowly from the couch to look at him, unsure what Tony was going on about. "No one that didn't regret it immediately afterwards. Why?"

Tony shrugged, a little embarrassed. "Lots of reasons. Its true though, you would. Your eyes for one, are the most green I've ever seen, and you have awesome hair, and…" He trailed off shrugging again at Harry's rising eyebrows. "You just would, okay?"

"Okay…" Harry said slowly, just looking at Tony for a moment curiously before turning back to the TV when the other boy remained quiet. After a minute or so, Tony spoke again, unable to help himself now that he had started the conversation.

"Have you ever worn a dress before?" Tony asked softly, half hoping Harry wouldn't hear the question. No such luck. Harry's attention instantly whipped back around to him.

"What the fuck Tony? What kind of question is that? I'm not a bloody woman!" Harry sighed at him, starting to get annoyed.

Tony lifts his chin slightly in defiance, plunging the rest of the way into the deep end. Sink or swim. "I think you could pull it off fantastically, and I know you're not a girl Harry. That's not what I'm getting at. Now answer the question. "

For several long moments Harry said absolutely nothing as he internally debated on whether he was really drunk enough to be having this conversation in the first place. Finally deciding that, yes actually, he was, Harry answered. "No, but I've thought about it."

"Really? Why? " Tony perked up a little, shifting in his position to face Harry more, absently wrapping the braid around his wrist.

"Because like you said, I would totally rock pretty much any dress. So yeah, I've thought about it. No, I haven't actually worn one." Harry tilted his head, blinking a little bit sleepily.

"Why such sudden interest in me crossdressing Tony?"

Tony doesn't reply, just gazing at him intently for a couple of seconds before suddenly leaning forward to press his own soft lips against his best friend's with slight hesitation, unsure of the welcome of such a bold move. Harry draws in a sharp breath in shock, freezing up completely as his drunk and sleepy brain scrambles to catch up with what's happening. When he feels Tony is about to pull away he instinctively grabs his upper arm, causing him to still. Closing his eyes, Harry lightly presses his lips back, moving them gently against the other boy's as he got a feel for what was going on. Tony follows the soft movements of Harry's lips without a sound beyond his own occasionally hitching breathing.

Harry loosens the grip he has on Tony's upper arm as he settles into the reality of just what it is he's doing, and who he's doing it with. Brushing his fingers up Tony shoulder and neck lightly before tangling in the short tousled hair, gripping a little more firmly as Harry coaxes and teases Tony's mouth gently into opening for him. Getting a soft pleased sigh, Tony's lips part for him and he deepens the kiss, taking his time to slowly tease and wind Tony up, pausing the kiss only long enough for them both to breathe before pressing his lips back to Tony's sweet mouth. By now Tony is pressing his body slightly against him, occasionally making soft little happy, encouraging sounds that spurned Harry on. Heat is quickly spreading throughout Harry's body, waking it up in ways it hadn't responded to those nameless girls for.

He absently wraps his other arm about Tony's waist, pulling the other boy into his lap to have him pressed closer. Tony's arms slide themselves around his neck seemingly automatically as the blue eyed boy settles right where Harry wants him; a jean clad thigh pressing hotly against each side of Harry's hips. His body is swiftly catching fire each time Tony touches him, lighting up for him like it never has before. Tony's hands are in his hair, gently tugging backward, and Harry breaks the kiss to obediently follow their pull. Scorching lips descend on his sensitive throat and Harry is helpless against stopping the deep moan that Tony's teeth, in one particular spot, pulls from him. Tony hums a pleased response back to him in reply and does it again. Absent mindedly tightening his grip in Harry's hair and tugging sharply, causing Harry's hips to jerk upwards, seeking friction and another low moan tumbles from his mouth.

Liquid fire pools in Harry's belly and in dim startlement he becomes aware of the feeling of warm, slick wet between his own thighs. He feels a fleeting moment of panic at how hard and fast Tony is arousing him, but Harry feels teeth against his throat once more and it distracts him. This time it is a playful grin, before Harry can say anything Tony bites and pulls again, this time when Harry's hips jerk, he gasps in surprise when Tony grinds his own hips down to meet him. Tony lets out a small, happy and breathy little laugh against Harry's skin, rolling his hips again just to hear the damned arousing noises Harry makes when he does.

Suddenly he feels Harry slip a hand up the back of his shirt, up to the center of his back, raking his nails lightly as he pulls them back down. Harry's lips are back on his, and Tony finds he doesn't care about the sudden change in control like he normally would. More than content for Harry to touch him any way he wanted to. Tony's world suddenly spins, as Harry bodily lifts him and lays him down on the couch like Tony didn't weigh well over one hundred pounds. Which was, okay, sexy as hell. Since when can he do that? Then Tony realizes through the fog of lust clouding his brain, just what position he is in. The both of them laying on the couch with Tony under Harry, and Harry between his spread legs. Again Tony couldn't find it within himself to give a damn when it felt this good. Especially when it was just Harry to begin with, and he is doing that with his tongue against his belly, and since when is that sexy?

Apparently since now, because it has him squirming and asking breathlessly for more before Tony realizes what he is doing. Harry flashes him a pleased smile from where he is shamelessly licking and nipping along his left hip bone, right along the edge of Tony's jeans. Occasionally his chin oh so lightly brushes against Tony hard and aching member, which is straining tightly against the zipper. Distantly Tony wonders of Harry is aware of what exactly he's doing, if he knows just how badly he's teasing him in that position.

Tony reaches down and tugs on Harry's shirt, getting him to pause the exploring he is doing long enough to let Tony pull his shirt off and toss it onto the floor somewhere near their long ago discarded shoes. Harry follows suit with his idea and without much coaxing at all gets Tony's shirt off him. It quickly joins the other one on the floor as Harry finds a nipple and swipes his tongue over it, watching Tony twitch in appreciation. Leaning down he wraps his lips around it and sucks, causing Tony to cry out softly and arch into his mouth, silently asking for more. The little nub hardens under his gentle teasing, and Harry scrapes lightly with his teeth, ripping a loud moan from his partner. Satisfied Harry pulls back and switches to the other one, giving it the same treatment.

Harry slides one hand down to curiously touch Tony through his jeans, just brushing lightly at first before more confidently applying more firm pressure after a moment. He shivers at the low long keen his rips from Tony's mouth, his hips rolling up into Harry's hand, pressing for more. Gods above Tony is so hard for him. Hands tangle in his hair again, alternating holding him in place and tugging as Harry listens to Tony shamelessly begging above him. His green eyes are locked on the other boy's face. Taking in each expression as it crosses the other's face. Harry's never seen anything so hot, so beautiful, before in his life.

Tony rolls up his hips up to rub against Harry again. When a low rumbling growl fills the room like rolling thunder, Harry pulls his hand away. Quickly and firmly he pins Tony's hips to the couch cushion so he couldn't move at all. Gasping, Tony stares at him in surprise with blue eyes dark. Harry watches as Tony's pupils widen further at the somewhat rough manhandling, knowing his grip was too tight for human hands, that Tony will have dark bruises tomorrow. Subconsciously Tony tilts his chin up, exposing his throat submissively to the other. Harry is instantly at his neck, pressing his fangs against Tony's pulse in dominance, as he barely reins himself in enough to not break Tony's skin. His chest rumbles in a low growl of frustrated arousal at the strain of holding back, Tony just moans his name wantonly in reply, the sound vibrating throughout his entire body, urging him to submit even more to Harry. _Which is so not helping._ Harry thinks as he struggles to not flip Tony onto his belly, rip his jeans off and simply take him, like everything in him is screaming at him too.

Closing his mouth, trying to cover the slip up with a kiss, Harry turns his face away to take a breath and try willing his fangs back into hiding before Tony can see them. Tony starts running his hands up Harry's back, gently scraping his nails, briefly exploring the twin scars where Harry's wings rested, but that Tony couldn't see or feel. The touch pulls a full body shudder from Harry as pure liquid pleasure takes over all his senses, drowning him for a few moments in bliss. His instincts suddenly switch gears on him, leaving his head dizzy and spinning. Going from the urge to dominate, to take Tony, to something softer, but no less urgently demanding. The heat in his belly pulsed and clenched tightly, aching for Tony to fill him instead and it takes everything Harry has to not beg for Tony to do just that. When he comes back to himself a bit, Tony is staring at him in startled awe. Harry isn't sure what exactly just happened, but Tony seemed pleased with whatever it was.

Before Harry can fully gather his wits, Tony's hands are at the fly of his jeans, and more swiftly than Harry thought Tony currently capable of, he has it undone and is reaching inside. Just as slim clever fingers wrap around his full and eager cock, sending a jolt a intense heat and want rushing up Harry's spine, Harry firmly grabs Tony's wrists and gently pulls his hands away. Tony has gotten way too close, if he would have reached just a little lower instead he would have discovered exactly how wet and slick Harry is for him. Discovered the female part of him. Frankly Harry is surprised he didn't notice. This has to stop, now. Before Harry completely loses his mind and shows Tony just how alien his genital anatomy is.

"No Tony, no more tonight." Harry says softly, voice deep and rough with need, leaning down to kiss him softly on the mouth to show he isn't upset by Tony's actions. Frowning a little bit Tony relaxes his hands until Harry lets go, then he moves to gently zip him back up. Harry's breath catches, but he doesn't move to stop him again. Harry didn't have the willpower to stop Tony a second time. If his partner persists there is no going back for Harry, his instincts are driving him too hard.

"Okay. Yeah, alright." Tony replies softly, disappointed but acknowledging Harry's boundaries. He slides his hands up into Harry's hair again, just lightly stroking as he tries to ignore his own painful arousal. He didn't mean for things to go this far to begin with, so stopping was most likely a good idea. Even if his body is still singing in disagreement. Plus he can see that something has shaken Harry, though he isn't sure what, but he seems to be relaxing as things slowed down again.

Harry is in fact settling, once he's no longer in danger of his drunken arousal revealing his non-human status to his friend. Laying down gently on Tony, he softly scatters little kisses over his neck, face and lips, his hands rubbing up and down Tony's sides, showing his affection without letting it lead anywhere further. Hoping that Tony won't take his rejection of further advances as a rejection of his advances altogether, and doing to his best to bring that point across bluntly. It appears to work, because Tony just smiles at him in gentle affection and amusement, letting Harry do what he wants as they both simply lay there, enjoying being with one another.

After a while, Harry shifts, pulling Tony from the doze he'd fallen into, and turns to shut the TV off. Gently pulling Tony to his feet Harry leads him into the bedroom, swiftly stripping down to his boxers and crawling into the bed. Without a protest or argument, a muzzy and sleepily Tony follows, curling up against Harry's warm side as both of them quickly fall into sleep.

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Tony wakes slowly. Drifting in and out of consciousness without feeling his usual urgent need to get up and get moving. His mind is soft, and quiet for once aside from a mild headache that he is fully capable of ignoring. He's snuggled up in something warm and extremely comfortable, and it takes him a long stretched out moment to realize that the pillows he is resting his head on is moving. Perplexed by this realization Tony wakes up a little bit more in his curiosity, his brain unable to ignore this anomaly. He cracks his eyes open with reluctance to discover why it is in fact moving, when it should not be. His pillow is Harry. _Well okay then, everything is fine._ Tony closes his eyes again, preparing to go back to sleep when the reality of what he's just seen fully smacks into him. Snapping his eyes back open, suddenly very much wide awake, Tony stares at his best friend, lost for a few seconds on how in the hell he's ended up mostly naked in the other boy's bed.

Blinking a few times Tony forces himself to calm down, starting to remember the night before as he does so. Laying still so as to not wake Harry just yet he considers his memories with care, comparing how he felt at the time with how he is feeling now, and finding to his surprise that for the most part, they have not changed. The only difference now is that he is feeling pretty shy and embarrassed with how boldly he went after Harry. It could have gone so very very wrong that way. Harry has shown no previous interest at all in males. In fact Tony knew for certain he was interested in women because he's seen Harry with them at various parties, but the more Tony thinks about it, he begins to realize that he can't remember Harry ever doing more than dancing with or kissing them. Harry never took them upstairs, or home and more than one made that option plainly obvious. He wonders now, if it wasn't because Harry wasn't actually interested in them at all.

He recalls, with a hungry smile, just how easily, how passionately Harry had responded to him and decides that must be the case. Not once has he ever seen Harry come to life for any of those girls like he had for Tony last night, like he could barely control himself. Never before has Tony considered letting himself get into bed with another male, never mind letting himself be dominated by said male, but damn if Harry and his wickedly sexy growling wouldn't make Tony change his mind in a half an instant flat. Sighing lightly in contentment Tony lets his thoughts drift, watching Harry as he snuffles in his sleep but doesn't fully wake.

After a little while Tony begins to talk to him softly, telling him about this or that. His classes, his future ideas, nothing serious with any real direction, simply speaking his thoughts aloud as they came to him. Eventually he starts talking about how much he missed Harry all those years apart. About how his mother and he drifted further apart as Howard began drinking more, about the screaming fights between all of them for one stupid reason or another. He talked about how nothing he ever did seem to hold his mother's attention for five minutes, how Howard regularly destroyed his self-confidence with his cruel words. Tony told him about his father's obsession with Captain America, how it had come about in the first place as Tony understood the story, and how much he hated the dead man for every moment of misery his memory caused him.

Reluctantly, slowly, Tony tells Harry about the physical abuse, how it escalated year after year until his mother risked bodily harm herself to get between them and ship him off to boarding school to keep them separated. His eyes are firmly fixed on the tree outside the bedroom window as he does so. He knows Harry is awake by now, had felt the change in his breathing, the slight tension coiling tighter in his slender body the longer Tony speaks of his family. Harry is staring at the ceiling as he just listens without a word, he is well aware of the cost of speaking about something like this, and he was going to be damned sure he didn't spook Tony somehow into clamming back up. So he lets Tony talk, saying nothing, only wrapping his arms around him and keeping him close.

After a while, Tony goes quiet, and once Harry is sure he is done sharing for now he reaches over to gently tilt Tony' face up towards him. Tony looks up without protest, his lovely blue eyes questioning. Harry just smiles at him softly and leans down to kiss away the lingering pain he can see the other trying to suppress. It doesn't take long before Tony is pressing him down into the mattress, deepening their kisses into something scorching hot and desperate.

Harry moans against his lips, shifting slightly so Tony's hips fell naturally into the cradle between his thighs, wrapping his legs loosely around him to keep him close. Tony nips a little harshly at Harry's bottom lip, causing him in inhale sharply. Tony moves to his neck, to the spot he knew Harry really liked and baring his teeth, bit down. Harry cried out, voice a mixture of surprised pain and pleasure, arching under him, leaning into his teeth.

"Like that do you?" Tony murmured against his neck, he bit down again, feeling restless and aggressive after his painful confessions. It seemed like Harry didn't mind if he used it against him, because he got the same sound from him again.

Before things could really get started however, the alarm clock on the bedside table began to scream shrilly, scaring the both of them nearly out of their skin. Tony swears under his breath, giving to machine a dirty look as Harry starts laughing. Still chuckling, Harry kisses him on the cheek.

"Breakfast?" He offers. "I'll cook something for you if you want."

Tony sighs rolling onto his side, letting Harry sit up. Sliding from the bed, Harry grabs the jeans he took off last night and pulls them back on.

" Yea...breakfast would be great Harry." Tony offers a smile, watching his motions fondly before getting up to pull on his pants from last night himself.

Surprisingly nothing is awkward between them after everything. Things are relaxed and playful, not much has really changed from how they would normally act around one another. It makes Tony wonder if Harry and he hadn't been subtly flirting with one another for years, and just hadn't realized it.

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Tony had left hours ago and Harry is still seething. He made sure that it didn't show while Tony was still at the apartment, but Harry was beyond enraged with one Howard Stark, and intensely unhappy with one Maria Stark as well. Now that Tony had gone back to his own place to work on a paper that was due soon, Harry felt able to let out some of his pent up aggression. He'd torn apart the living room in a fit, his mind careening between his own horrible memories of the Dursleys and Tony's own soft confessions this morning, until it all blurred together into one horrific tangle of pure unadulterated, blind fury.

This dark and ugly version of Harry is what Kiran and Meloth show up to find. Hearing the commotion inside the apartment, and worried for Harry's safety they quickly let themselves in, stopping in the doorway of the living room to take in the feral being that is their lord. Harry was still only half dressed in a pair of dirty jeans, shirtless and barefoot. His wings are out, mantled, bristling in threat and rage. Harry's normally neat and tidy braid is a tangled unkempt mess. On his skin in various places are marks that a lover would leave, plainly visible, through the bites, bruises and scratches would heal to nothing by the end of the day.

Kiran quickly shoves Meloth behind him, hissing at him to kneel down on the floor, stay put and not to move from his spot, not matter what. Meloth reluctantly nods and does as instructed, knowing that in this state Harry will not likely take well to Kiran approaching him, never mind the both of them at the same time. So Meloth knelt down, lowering his body in a submissive posture with his chocolate brown wings spread flat with the floor in a vulnerable position, making himself as nonthreatening as possible.

Kiran hunches down as much as his big frame can, wings tucked tightly to his back, keeping them still, as he slowly inches into Harry's living room. Before he is even two feet passed the door Harry spins around to face him, fangs bared in a violent threat as his rumbling growl vibrates through the living room in dire warning. Kiran freezes in place, dropping to his knees in an instant and averting his eyes, though he kept Harry in his peripheral vision. Harry holds his ground for several moments, staring him down before finally turning away to resume his furious pacing.

Taking a soft, shaking breath Kiran begins his approach again, this time remaining on his knees to seem less threatening in Harry's space. He is after all, both taller and heavier built than Harry, he is fully unsurprised that Harry rejects his first attempt at moving near him. Purring in a coaxing, somewhat submissive manner Kiran takes his time moving across the room, keeping a close eye on Harry's movements. Other than glancing at him, and rumbling unhappily, Harry does not threaten him again.

Kiran takes the opportunity to discreetly scent the air, wondering if he could find out that way what it is that has set Harry off. He smells breakfast, the normal smells associated with Harry's apartment. Under that, the unmistakable but somewhat familiar scent of a certain particular male, and intense passion. The scent is faded, so it wasn't from this morning, most probably the night before. Unsure if this is the reason for Harry's upset, he glances around to see if anything is out of place in the room, besides the obvious mess, but doesn't find anything.

It takes some time, but with Kiran's proximity and soothing purring, Harry slowly calms down enough to actually be able to speak, and speak he does. Verbally lashing and tearing this Howard and Maria to pieces viciously. Kiran and Meloth listen without speaking, knowing Harry needs to purge this poison from his system without interruption. They make careful note of each word said, each crime committed, each untended wound left to fester. Harry is physically unharmed, but it is blindingly clear to them that the wounds this human boy still carries is shared wholly by their Prince. Both conclude with a shared glance that spoke volumes that this is not acceptable to either one of them. This human is important to their lord, his pains are Harry's pains. It would be dealt with, soon.

Eventually Harry runs out of steam completely, flopping gracelessly down on the sofa cushion on the floor with a drained sigh. Certain now, that Harry's temper has passed, both brothers straighten up, but remain sitting on the floor with him.

"I'm sorry you saw that, had to deal with that. I've always had a temper, but I'm usually better at keeping it under control." Harry runs a hand through his messy hair with another sigh. "I don't think I'm up for any kind of training today."

Kiran waves the words aside. "That's fine, we don't expect you to be after slipping into a feral state, they're tiring when you come down from one."

Harry nods in agreement, and glances up as Meloth moves from his spot, closer to the two of them. Looking around Harry makes a face. " Ugh, and now I have this mess to clean up."

Meloth smiles at him softly. "Don't fret my Prince, we'll help you."

Within an hour the three of them manage to get the room back into rights, only having to repair a couple of small knick knacks with magic. Once this is done they talk Harry into resting, which he really doesn't put much fuss up about. When they shut the front door behind themselves, they exchange grim, telling looks, then carry on their way.

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The next night Howard and Maria Stark die in a car crash on a quiet stretch of road, on a California Highway. Investigators concluded their deaths to be the result of a faulty brake system and hydroplaning on a wet road.

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD for short, flagged the deaths as suspicious in their database when they had their own investigation. SHIELD investigators went over every inch of the Stark's vehicle and declared to their Director that the brake lines were expertly tampered with. The hunt for the culprits began immediately.


	6. Sorrow's Call

_A/N: Warnings for language, death, mentions of past child abuse, **GRAPHIC SLASHY SEX!**_

 _Italics for thoughts_

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It was the middle of the night when Harry's cell phone woke him rudely from a rare block of deep, dreamless sleep. Reluctantly peeking his head up from his cocoon of blankets, he threw a hand out, fumbling blindly for it on the side table, cursing whoever it is viciously under his breath. Finally finding the blasted thing, he clumsily brings it to his ear and hits the answer button.

"Hello?" Harry croaks grumpily, rubbing his eyes with his other hand.

"Harry…" Tony's voice is hushed, strained and subdued. Harry is immediately awake, Tony wouldn't call him like this without reason when he knew Harry has gone to sleep only a few hours ago.

Sitting up, Harry grips the phone more firmly, reaching over the turn on the bedside lamp. "Tony? What is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm...I...I don't know, can I come over?" There is something in his voice, something that grips Harry's heart hard and squeezes unpleasantly.

"Always Tony. Where are you?" Harry tosses the blankets off to one side, sliding to the edge of the bed and onto his feet, heedless of his near naked state.

"I'm outside." Tony replied, causing Harry to pause half a second before heading straight to the living room, flicking on lights as he went. Unlocking the front door he pulls it open and sure enough, Tony was on his doorstep, looking frazzled.

Clicking off his phone Harry reaches out to pull the listless Tony into the apartment, only just closing the door before Tony is in his arms, holding tightly to him. Wrapping his arms tightly around his waist, Harry holds him firmly, resting his chin against the side of Tony's head, silent as he waits. For long minutes Tony doesn't move, and Harry slowly maneuvers them to sit on the couch. Tony is like a limpet, clinging to him the entire way, and once Harry is seated, nearly climbs into his lap.

Gently tipping Tony's head up to look at his face, he takes note of the lack of tears, but the other boy looks both exhausted and upset. Tony meets his eyes without flinching, just watching him as Harry softly runs his fingers through his hair. "Talk to me Tony, please."

A soft sigh is his answer at first, Tony finally breaking the shared gaze, looking away. "I hated him you know ... really hated him. I'm glad that bastard is finally gone."

Harry blinks, taken aback in confusion at the words. "Who's gone Tony?"

"Howard...and Maria." Blue eyes seek out his own again. "I'm glad the fucker is dead, and I barely knew the woman that was supposed to be my mother. Does it make me an awful person that I don't really miss them?"

Harry tightens his hold on the other, his heart breaking a little at the honest confusion and distress in Tony's eyes. "I don't honestly know. I wouldn't think so, like you said, Howard went out of his way to be an asshole to you, and Maria was never really there. So no, personally I don't think so. I'm sure that there are other people who will argue the opposite. It doesn't matter though Tony, because you're entitled to your own feelings, regardless of what they are. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

Slowly Tony nods, settling against Harry in a more relaxed state, as though he simply needed someone to say it out loud. For a long time they sit on the couch like that before Harry convinces Tony to lay down with him in the bedroom to try and sleep. Tony complies without argument, snuggling up against his side. For a while Harry remains awake, just staring at the ceiling as his thoughts drift over long ago memories of the two of them as children.

Shifting his gaze to the brunette sleeping against him, he wonders what it is that he's doing with Tony. They haven't ever discussed what this thing going on between them is. They weren't dating, Tony still regularly went to bed with various girls, and Harry never said anything. He hasn't felt the need to drive any of them off, knowing Tony will come back to his side. Tony is human, and he just isn't. Harry has a lifelong responsibility to a struggling people, Tony has only himself and his family's company to worry about now. Harry doesn't think he will ever be able to reveal his alien self to Tony; look at how the humans were already treating the mutants. It's terrifying to think about. However, Tony is his best friend from childhood, and he's never shown such prejudice. Still, Harry can't help but think that whatever this was, it couldn't last in the long term. Not as things were now, maybe never. He is reluctant to change things as they were at the moment, especially with Tony grieving, even if Tony doesn't want to admit he is. Things far from settled in Harry's mind, he drifts off without realizing it.

In the morning, things were like any other morning Tony stays the night, aside from the fact that Tony is quieter. Harry makes them both a vegetarian breakfast, which Tony still teases him about, and they move into the living room to eat. Once they are settled on the couch with the TV on, Harry opens the conversation, since Tony has made it apparent that he isn't going to.

"When is the funeral?" Harry inquires softly, aware that the other really doesn't want to talk about any of it at all.

Laying his head against the back of the couch Tony grumbles. "The end of this week, so in a few days. Obadiah already made some of the arrangements so I wouldn't have to, I just have to show up and not be a fool in front of the media."

Harry frowns. "He invited the press? Without asking you?"

Tony shrugs. "They would have crashed it anyway, Howard and Maria were a big deal. Better that they are there by invitation instead of causing trouble trying to get in."

"That's...really kind of messed up Tony. I'm glad my parents aren't media dolls. I don't understand how you deal with the camera being in your face all the time like that. " Harry shakes his head in disgust at the notion of being constantly hounded by those soulless vultures all his life. He's had more than enough of that in his previous life, what he could remember of it was always a horrible experience. He personally would have been furious with his father's business partner for inviting them, given the man hell for making the funeral arrangements without any of his input at all, regardless on if he hated them as Tony did or not.

Tony suddenly turns to face him, the motion grabbing Harry's attention again. "I'd like it if you and Rhodey would come with me when I go, and Pepper, but I have to call her first and see if she can come out to California. "

"Of course I'll go Tony. I'm sure Rhodey will too. Besides, I want to met this Pepper girl that you keep talking about. She's the only one that seems to have stuck around over the years." Harry teases lightly.

In reality he wants to scope her out, because of all the people on the planet to bother him, she is it. They've kept in near daily contact through phone and email for years now since they had met. Tony talks about this mystery woman often and it makes him nervous for reasons he can't explain to himself. It isn't jealousy, because there is nothing there to be jealous of. Tony has made it plain before that he has never thought of her in a romantic sense, nor talked about her as such. Still, something about her has his Valkyrie unsettled.

He remains quiet as Tony goes off in some story about the redhead girl while they were in school again, happy to see that the mood Tony had brought with him last night, for the moment, seems to have lifted. He knows it will come back again, they still have to attend the funeral services, but for now, the old Tony is back.

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The days pass by quickly between Harry's normal heavy class schedule and keeping Tony close to his side. Tony's moods right now were erratically swinging between extreme animated highs, manic lows and raging anger. When Harry wasn't able to keep an eye on him, mostly because of classes, Rhodey tried to. But aside from the mood swings, Tony didn't do anything stupid or reckless that would draw attention to himself. By some miracle, Harry and Rhodey manage to get acceptable suits on short notice from a local shop, causing Tony to go off on a rant about tailoring vs. off the rack garbage. And packing their overnight bags for a couple of days in California.

Obadiah Stane, Howard's business partner for Stark Industries, sends out the family's private plane across country to retrieve them. There was no fighting with the busy local major airport, no flight delays or long crowded lines for them to deal with. The trip back across country to California once they are settled on board was fairly short. The inside of the plane was amazingly spacious and luxurious, unlike anything Harry or Rhodey have ever seen before.

It was tastefully done in whites, creams and various brown woods as the main colors, with scattered highlights of golds and grays. It had overstuffed chairs, couches and plush carpeting. On one end of the seating area was a fully stocked mini bar, on the other a gigantic flat screen TV. It hardly looked like the inside of a plane at all, but more like a fully decorated high end living room with seat belts discreetly attached to the furniture.

Tony seemed to be in no frame of mind for any real conversation, tumbling deeply into one of his blue moods, and simply staring out of the plane window at the passing clouds. After a short while, Harry joined him in his staring activity, losing himself in his own thoughts of the past as Rhodey settled down as comfortably as he could manage and appeared to contently fall asleep in his chair.

Harry's nightmares, which he has reluctantly accepted as memories from his previous life, have changed in the past few months, swinging between happy and violent in no chronological order. Despite this, Harry has been slowly able to piece together growing up at the Dursley's, and his years at a school called Hogwarts. Harry swiftly came to the conclusion that Hogwarts was a mixed blessing, baring both happy and painful memories.

As a positive side effect of these particular memories, he was also rapidly recalling his knowledge in magic. Spells, potions, incantations, and rituals all filling his head seemingly without end, sliding into the blank spaces in his mind that he hadn't previously been aware were even there. There were memories of powerful magics that he knew he hadn't learned in school, that he knew he had learned long after though he couldn't remember the circumstances, but were recalled anyway.

Many of his memories were no longer restricted to showing up when he slept, now they were cropping up in daylight hours, triggered by the most random things. It could be something as innocent as someone's laughter, a snippet of an argument or conversation; even his expensive imported English tea, had summoned one up of Divination class with Ron Weasley. They came without rhyme or reason, causing him to be absent minded and distracted in his day to day activities. So far, neither of the other two boys that frequented his side had yet to notice that it was a constant battle some days for Harry to concentrate on the here and now.

Harry was an emotional mess because of these memories, re-traumatized because of the violent remembrance of his so called 'family' in the first part of his childhood. He was both elated and deeply distressed in equal measure by the events of growing up at Hogwarts during the rising war with he and the Dark Lord Voldemort as it's main centerpieces. When the images progressed further in time they became darker and more frightening, he remembered blood, pain and screams. He remembered people he knew dying around him; his schoolmates, his teachers, his friends and loved ones.

Some days were so heart wrenching and depressing Harry struggles to get out of bed. Battling with himself to not go lay back down and weep until his heart broke into jagged splinters for them. The only thing that kept him going some days was the knowledge that this life he was reliving in these memories was already long gone. Those people were already long dead, none of it existed in this place and time. The notion is cold comfort at best, and his heart never stops aching from it all.

Going to this funeral was going to be difficult as hell for Harry's psyche as much as it was going to be for Tony, if only for very different reasons. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to be seeing the services of Howard and Maria Stark, but rather the ethereal ghosts of the many services he had attended of all those people they had lost in the Wizarding war. The endless line of funerals at the end of the bloody, bitter conflict would slide before his grieving eyes one after another until he couldn't see anything else beyond the piles of bodies of those he had failed to save. His only anchors to reality are going to be Tony and Rhodey, and they wouldn't even be aware of it.

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When the private jet plane on landed on the tarmac, a sleek black limo was sitting there to meet them. They exited the plane with their things and stopped at the bottom of the stairs to wait patiently at Tony's gesture. With a friendly greeting, a crisp and polished driver politely gathered their bags, putting them into the trunk of the limo. Then held open the back door of the vehicle for the three of them to slide inside, got into the driver's seat and silently drove them through the late California traffic to the house they would be staying at for the duration of their stay for the funeral services.

Along the way Tony quietly points out things through the window to a curious Rhodey who has never visited the state before, seemingly tired but content for the distraction. When they arrive at Tony's childhood home, they are informed by one of the staff waiting for them that Miss Potts has already arrived a couple hours earlier in the day and was currently resting for the night in one of the guest rooms. The fiery redheaded woman had chosen to take a commercial flight instead of Tony having the family's plane make a second trip only for her. Pepper's argument had been that it was only a short few hours flight from where she was attending the business school her father had enrolled her in.

Calling it a night themselves due to the late hour of their arrival, Tony shows them to their lavish guest rooms and they settle in to get some sleep before they would attend services tomorrow afternoon. Harry, being in the same room he had so often used when staying with Tony's family in the past, tosses and turns in the bedsheets until they are a tangled mess despite how tired he is. Finally giving up for now, they turns to lay on his back, staring up blankly at the ceiling.

The house is dark and silent when his door slowly creaks open, he looks over to find Tony quietly slipping into the bedroom and shutting it behind himself. Smiling slightly into the darkness, Harry doesn't say anything as Tony climbs into the bed with him, straightening out the mess of covers with a soft click of his tongue. Harry says nothing, letting Tony do as he likes, simply moving himself over to give the blue eyed boy a little more room. For all the good it did. Once Tony settles, he wraps himself around Harry's back near instantly and Harry feels something within himself finally settle down. Weaving their fingers together over his belly, Harry relaxes into the embrace and feels Tony do the same with a soft silent sigh. Closing his eyes, Harry's skin tickles as the other boy presses his lips in a kiss to the back of Harry's neck. Together in the darkness of the house where they had first met as children, they drift off to sleep in one another's arms.

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Silver-grey morning light drifted into the opulent bedroom of Stark mansion and crept softly across bedcovers to relentlessly poke Tony in his futility closed eyelid. Scowling grumpily against the persistent assault Tony finally turns his face away from the source of his irritation and sleepily blinks open blue eyes. Taking a few silent moments to focus his still partially asleep mind he lets his eyes drift over the delicious sight before him.

Harry is very soundly asleep, stretched out on his belly next to him, a pillow clutched in his arms with his head resting on it, beautifully showing off the lithe muscles of his back that flex gently with his breathing. Despite the pale twin vertical scars traversing the skin of his back, Tony thought the contrast of the deep crimson colored sheet draped across Harry's waist and bottom a rather artistic view. Harry's mid-back length shining black hair spilled wildly across the linens in a loose tangle, free of its normal restrictive braid. Harry is simply breathtaking beyond words posed like this, almost like a seductive painting.

Smiling softly to himself, Tony reaches out to gently run his fingertips down the curve of his friend's spine, reveling in the unconscious content sigh it produced from the other's lips as he slept. His fingers travel slowly down his skin, stopping finally to rest on Harry's hip, right above the sheet that hid the plain black boxers Harry wore. Leaning forwards he lightly brushes soft lingering kisses across the back of his neck and shoulders. Unsurprisingly, Harry doesn't yet stir, so Tony continues his gentle exploration.

Raising his hand from Harry's hip, he moves the long dark hair out of the way so as to not accidentally pull it, and so he can better see Harry's face. He shifts himself closer so as to able to better reach Harry's skin, scooting down slightly. Resting one hand back on Harry's hip, Tony starts at the back of Harry's neck again. Taking his time to slowly trail soft kisses with little licks and nibbles down Harry's spine until he reaches the curve of his bottom.

Glancing up at the still sleeping Harry, he runs a hand gently up to his belly, nails just barely scratching the sensitive skin, the muscles twitching in response, then shifts his aim, heading for Harry's chest. Finding a dusky nipple within reach he lightly rubs a fingertip over the tip, making a pleased little hum under his breath as the little nub hardens under his touch. Moving to stimulate the other, he smiles when Harry suddenly inhales deeply, starting to come up from dreamland.

Placing a soft wet kiss at the base of Harry's spine, he changes targets again. Moving back up to his original position he presses his body lightly against Harry's back. Dropping his wandering hand back down, Tony manages to slide his hand under Harry's body, wrapping his agile fingers around his half-hard member. Harry stirs slightly, but doesn't quite awaken yet, unconsciously arching his hips into Tony's touch. Letting his lips play at Harry's throat in that spot he knew drove the other crazy, Tony briefly lets go. Instead he slips his hand into Harry's boxers, firmly grabbing a hold of Harry and stroking him teasingly, enough to entice him to further arousal, but not finish him.

A soft deep moan alerts Tony to the fact that Harry is finally awake enough to have an idea of what is going on. Harry presses his body firmly back against Tony's chest, shifting his hips to rub against the other boy's erection as he shallowly thrust into Tony's hand tight around him. Tipping his head back, Harry gazes at Tony through hazy green eye dark with lust, lips slightly parted as he softly says Tony's name, reaching an arm up to loosely curl around Tony's neck. Flashing a quick grin Tony swoops down to roughly kiss Harry's mouth, rubbing his erection against Harry's shifting backside. Breaking the kiss Tony leans down to the junction of Harry's neck and shoulder, baring his teeth and suddenly biting down, squeezing his hand around Harry's cock as he did so. Harry jerks in his grip, crying out in pleasure as he tries to lean harder into Tony's teeth. Moaning against Harry's skin he swipes a thumb over the slick wet head of Harry's arousal before sliding his hand further down between his legs.

Harry goes rigid in Tony's embrace at the same instant that Tony's fingers find the moist wet heat of Harry's female parts instead of the scrotum he'd been expecting to find there. Drawing in a sharp breath in surprise, he instinctively tightens his other arm around Harry when he tries to bolt, preventing him from doing so. Tony's scientifically creative mind is running rampant, Harry is frantically murmuring something, but truthfully Tony doesn't hear him, caught up completely in this discovery. Understanding, finally, after months of wondering what he was doing wrong, why Harry wouldn't sleep with him. Wouldn't let things progress passed the removal of their shirts and pants between them, would only rarely let Tony touch his erection at all. Coming back to himself Tony realizes that Harry has fallen silent. Looking at him he finds that Harry has his face turned away from him. Impulsively Tony leans over to kiss Harry on the cheek before he speaks.

"Harry, I don't care. This doesn't change things for me. You're still Harry, and that's all that really matters to me." He slides his hand away from his genital region, sensing that Harry is uncomfortable, resting it instead on Harry's hip.

Harry, after a few seconds looks at him from the corner of his eye. "How can it not?"

"Well...would it change anything at all for you if I was the one that was built differently?" Tony asks softly.

It would. Of course it would. Everything would be a million times different if Tony was Valkyrie too, but that wasn't what Tony meant by these words, and Harry knew it.

He shakes his head. "No..of course not."

"Then why did you think you needed to hide this from me? To hide such a huge part of yourself from me? What did I do to make you believe that I would turn away from you for being a Mutant?" Reaching up he gently turns Harry's face towards him. "What could I have possibly done to make you think I would hurt you like that?"

Harry keeps his eyes lowered, not knowing what to do, how to handle this without blatantly lying to Tony, which he was unwilling to do. Tony thought he was a Mutant, which he wasn't, but he couldn't tell him about the Valkyrie, even if he wants to because it's not his secret alone. His silence protects thousands of others, and he would keep it, even if it cost him his personal happiness. Tony silently strokes Harry's hair, waiting for what feels like eternity as Harry's mind scrambles like a trapped rabid animal for some solution that wasn't a lie, or didn't cause either of them pain. Finally he settles on something that is truth enough, but gives little away, hoping that Tony accepts it for now.

"You didn't do anything Tony, I just...I wasn't ready to tell you. I'm not sure I would have ever been ready to tell anyone. I was afraid. It wasn't logical I know but, I just was." Harry offers the explanation softly, in a hesitant wavering voice.

Tony is quiet for a few moments, keeping his thoughts to himself as Harry waits for him to speak, knowing he didn't really answer any of his questions. Suddenly Tony flashes him a mischievous grin, catching Harry off guard.

"Alright Harry, I won't push for answers if you're not comfortable giving them. Not about that, but...I do have to ask. Are you fully functioning, as a female I mean. Can you carry a child like a woman does?"

Startled a little bit at the question, though as he thought about it he supposes that he really shouldn't be. He nods. "Yes, I can. I'm not as fertile as a regular woman though, because I'm not actually a woman Tony and if you ever think otherwise I will seriously maim you."

Tony chuckles and leans down to kiss Harry deeply. "I can live with that." He murmurs between one kiss and the next. Harry is at first hesitant to respond to him, but then forces himself to let go of his worries, to just enjoy and celebrate the fact that Tony seemingly wasn't at all put off by his differences.

Passion sparks quickly between them once again, now that Tony is more aware of who he's taken to bed, Harry seems to shed what little was left of his shyness. His fingers tangle in Tony's hair, tugging him away from his mouth and instead urging him down towards his neck. Tony complies without argument, seeking out that same sensitive spot he knew very well, listening happily as Harry groans when he finds it. Applying his teeth and nipping hard enough to leave little red marks on Harry's skin he works his way down to one nipple, pulling it into his mouth to play with it with his tongue. Harry arches into the stimulation with a little gasp, his fingers tightening in Tony's hair. Grazing the flushed little nub a bit harshly with those same teeth makes Harry nearly come off the bed with a pleased little yelp. Chuckling softly in pleasure, he shifts over the do the same to the second one, pulling another groan from the boy under him.

Harry suddenly shifts a little bit, moving his legs in such a way that Tony slid to rest naturally between them. He could feel Harry through the thin material of both of their underclothes. Neither of them were as fully hard as they had been before Tony's startling discovery, but they were well back on their way to where they were. Making a soft hum of acknowledgement of the motion Tony shifts once again, lips and teeth making a wet open mouthed trail down to Harry's belly. He pauses here to slip his tongue out to tease Harry's belly button, getting a ticklish giggle in return. Making a mental note of that he moves on, nibbling along one hip bone, causing Harry to inhale sharply as his hips twitch slightly in reaction.

Looking up, Tony pauses until he has Harry's attention, once he does he tugs lightly on Harry's boxers in question. After a heartbeats consideration Harry nods, lifting his hips up as Tony pulls them off and down his legs, tossing them across the room somewhere onto the floor. Still keeping an eye on Harry's reactions he gently parts his thighs, Harry moving willingly with the motion. Seeing that Harry seems alright for now Tony turns his attention to the task he has in mind.

He takes a few moments to take in the sight of his partner's anatomy. The male part of him is obvious, resting flushed, hard against his lower belly and right where Tony is used to it being. He reaches out a hand to wrap around Harry's shaft, stroking and teasing as he continues his examination. Right under the full erection, where the second bit of male the genitals normally rests, is instead the female part of Harry. There were only superficial differences between Harry and what Tony was used to seeing.

Glancing up at Harry once again just to check on him he took in the sight of the black haired boy's head tilted back in pleasure, hands clenched in the sheets on either side of his body, watching Tony through jade half lidded eyes. Giving him a little smile Tony leans down, hearing Harry's breath catch as his lips lightly tease over the base of his member before slowly sliding down to the female part of him. The scent of Harry is what Tony notices first, instead of the heavy musk a woman usually had, Harry had a lighter sweeter smell when aroused. Curious Tony flicks out his tongue to taste, dipping into his folds, Harry tastes as sweet as he smells, though Tony can't place it to anything he recognizes.

Above him Harry moans his name softly, slightly arching up into Tony's attentions. Settling himself between Harry's legs more comfortably Tony lets himself fall into a rhythm that he knows very well, using lips, tongue and lightly his teeth to coax, tease and arouse Harry further. He's relentless, slowly driving Harry to the edge again and again but not letting him tip over it. To his pleasure Harry reacts with just as much appreciation as the women Tony has done this for previously.

Harry quickly and without shame becomes more vocal for him and at some point Tony becomes aware of Harry sliding a hand into his hair, though it does nothing more than grip. Harry's thighs are trembling with the effort to remain still enough for Tony to work, despite his desperation. Tony is merciless and doesn't let up until he has Harry a begging mess under his lips.

Only then does Tony bring Harry to his peak, moaning himself as he feels Harry tense up under him, a sudden rush of sweet slick on his tongue has Tony rubs his painfully hard erection harshly against the mattress. Listening to Harry's passion throughout has Tony so aroused he's somewhat concerned about his control. Even then he doesn't stop until he's driven Harry hard into a second climax right after the first, pulling a harsh scream from his lover.

Pulling back a bit to take a few calming breaths Tony places light kisses along the inside of one shivering thigh, both surprised and curious to see that in spite of two orgasms Harry is still hard, though the head of his cock is leaking heavily. A light tug on his hair pulls Tony from his observation, looking up at Harry, he notices that the other's eyes are almost completely black, only a thin ring of green showing in his eyes.

Shifting to lay beside Harry, he is a little startled when the other leans over to kiss him aggressively, not many of the women Tony had been with liked to kiss him immediately after he had given them oral. Harry, it seems, couldn't have cared less. With surprising strength he suddenly pushes Tony onto his back, kicking off the sheet around him and moving to straddle just above his hips. As Tony lets out a soft noise of surprise, Harry grins at him playfully, purposely wiggling a little as though getting comfortable, just to be silly.

Tony just grins back at him once he realizes what Harry's doing, folding his arms up and pillowing them under the back of his head, blatantly running his eyes up and down Harry's exposed form. Arching an eyebrow at the laid back pose, Harry pouts at him in an exaggerated fashion, causing Tony to snort softly in amusement. Huffing at the other, Harry leans forward to nibble on Tony's neck, placing his hands on either side of the blue eyes boy's head as he does so.

Tony closes his eyes, tipping his head back to give Harry more room to play. Harry doesn't linger long though, sitting back up and running his hands along Tony's sides as he shifts his position to sit on Tony's thighs instead. Opening his eyes to watch as Harry maneuvers, stripping Tony of his boxers, Harry tosses them carelessly over one shoulder. Reaching down he takes both himself and Tony firmly in hand, rubbing and teasing as Tony bucks up into his grip with a loud moan. Letting go after a few strokes Harry rolls his hips as he leans forward to whisper into Tony's ear.

"How do you feel about me fucking you?" Harry nips at the earlobe within his reach before pulling back enough to see Tony's expression. Tony's blue eyes are locked on his own, the emotion in them considering.

"You know what you're doing?" He finally asks after a few long moments.

Harry nods, kissing him lightly on the mouth. "Yea..I made sure to find out a while ago, just in case."

Tony smiles at him a little bit nervously and nods his consent. "Alright."

Harry lets out a small breath and leans his forehead against Tony's. "It will be easier the first time if I have you turn over."

Without saying anything Tony gently nudges Harry off of him and shifts over onto his belly before sliding his knees up under him and slowly spreading his legs, his front resting on his elbows. Harry lets him get settled before reaching out to lightly squeeze his bottom as he scoots closer. Murmuring a spell softly under his breath Harry gently presses lubed fingertips to Tony's entrance, making him jump a little. Lifting his other hand to stroke soothingly along Tony's thigh, Harry lightly traces around Tony's little rosebud until some of the tension leaves his frame.

Only then does he breech with one finger, taking his time and watching Tony carefully. When Tony doesn't protest, Harry carefully works a second finger into him, gently stretching him as he went. Tony draws in a soft breath and Harry pauses, afraid he's hurt him, but Tony only presses back against his hand, voice low and rough as he speaks.

"Don't stop, keep going Harry."

Dropping a kiss lightly on one cheek Harry does just that, murmuring a spell for more lube as he slowly works his way up to four fingers, making sure that Tony is more than ready for him. Judging from the soft moans being pulled from Tony's throat, and his leaning back into each thrust of his fingers, Harry figures he is ready enough. Slicking lube over his aching cock Harry lines himself up and presses himself inside in one steady, slow, smooth inch at a time until he is fully seated and Tony is gasping his name below him, fingers clenching tightly in the sheets.

Tony can hardly breathe, he doesn't know how to process the sensations running over his nerve endings. The prep and stretching felt strange at first, but not unpleasant, he learns that the skin around his anus is apparently more touch sensitive than he's ever given thought to until Harry starts touching him. Harry penetrating him is completely something else entirely. At first he is uncertain, even a little nervous, wondering how his body is supposed to stretch enough for Harry to be inside of him without pain. It was somewhat of a discomfort for a few moments, but not painful. Once Harry is fully seated inside of him, his hips resting tight against Tony's bottom, he moves just slightly just to see how it feels. He heard Harry groan softly behind him, and grins a little bit devilishly, clenching his muscles around Harry's hard cock, feeling it jump a bit in response. Harry grabs his hips to keep him still.

"Jesus, gimme a minute Tony. You have no idea of how fucking tight you are."

Tony can't help the little chuckle that slips past his lips. "Well hurry the hell up." he teases back in reply, shifting his weight just a little so he can reach down and stroke himself back to full hardness. Harry swears softly, and finally pulls himself nearly all the way out of Tony hot heat before thrusting back inside firmly, but not roughly, knowing if he doesn't pay attention to his more than human strength he can really hurt his lover. Tony catches his breath in pleasure, instinctively arching his hips back into Harry thrusting home, a deep moan spilling from his lips. Tony drops his hand back to the mattress, lowers his head a bit and closing his eyes as Harry gradually picks up the pace of his thrusts.

Fireworks suddenly burst across Tony's vision, wrenching a shout from him as Harry found that little bundle of nerves that he knew would make Tony fly. Once Harry finds it, he makes sure to nail it every time, and from the babbling and wails coming from Tony's mouth, he figures he's doing just fine. Glancing down, Harry watches where they're connected as he takes Tony, a low rumbling starting in his chest as the skin on his back starts to tickle. He doesn't pay it any real mind at the moment.

"Fuck yes Harry! Harder!" Tony shouts, and Harry shifts his stance a little to give him what he wants.

"Grab the headboard." Harry orders gruffly, voice little more than a growl through his extended fangs. Tony obeys without question, bracing himself firmly as Harry gives him the hard fucking he asks for. Jesus did Tony turn into a sexy little slut when he was being taken.

Tony has no shame whatsoever, arching his hips back seeking and meeting Harry thrust for thrust, both of them oblivious to the harsh sounds of flesh echoing in the room, or the groaning of the bed in protest. Harry distantly becomes aware of that tickling sensation on his back again and suddenly realizes that the spell on his wings is gone.

They were spread out high above him, open and shifting in time with his movement, putting more force behind them. Glancing quickly at Tony, he sees that the other boy is too wrapped up in his own pleasure to notice, and Harry would have to stop what he was doing to speak the spell correctly anyway, so throwing caution to the wind he ignores them again.

Instead leaning forward across Tony's back to get deeper penetration, he slides a hand under Tony to grab his neglected erection, stroking it in time with his own movements. It isn't long after that he can feel Tony's body tightening up around him, instinct drives him to sink his fangs into Tony's vulnerable throat only a mere heartbeat before he feels Tony come all over his hand with a loud scream. Tony tenses up tight around his thrusting cock, dragging Harry over the edge of climax with him. Harry's possessive snarl mingles with Tony's cry as Harry spills his seed deep inside of him.

When Harry comes back down to earth, panting softly he rains little kisses down on Tony's back after withdrawing his fangs, licking away the tiny blood droplets. His saliva quickly heals the little wounds, leaving nothing behind but a bruise. At some point when Harry had been out of it, Tony collapsed down onto the bed, taking Harry with him. Quickly Harry mutters that spell against Tony's skin, hiding his wings once again from view, and gently pulling himself out of Tony's body to lay down beside him.

For several minutes both of them just lay there, exhausted and trying to get their breathing to something resembling normal. During this time the only movement is Tony shifting enough to throw an arm over Harry's waist. Tony doesn't remain awake much longer after that, but Harry only lightly dozes, simply resting until it was late enough in the morning for them to get up and get ready for the day. Both of them content to just be in the other's arms.

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When they get up later in the morning, they share a long shower that ends up with Tony pinned up against the wall for a second round, then head downstairs to get something to eat before they all had to leave for the services.

Rhodey is already in the kitchen, looking rumpled and tired, munching on some fruit. Looking up as they pause in the doorway, he scowls at them, raising an accusing finger to point at them threateningly from his seat.

"Stark. I don't care what either of you do in your own time, but I did not need to be woken up by it, you hear me? Nobody needs to wake up to that shit. I'm moving into the room down the hall. You're both loud as fuck. Seriously man, what the hell."

Tony blinks a couple of times before busting out laughing at his irritated friend, waving his threatening tone off with a half-assed apology. Harry shakes his head at the both of them, moving over to the fridge to figure out if there was anything in there to make for breakfast. Finding a few things, he pulls out a pan and starts cooking, ignoring Tony's complaints about a meatless breakfast. Harry merely makes a rude gesture in return, then ignores him. Tony and Rhodey sit down at the table, sniping at each other good naturedly back and forth like annoying siblings.

A few minutes later Pepper walks in; freshly showered, dressed in an aggressive black power skirt and jacket set with matching stilettos heels, her bright copper hair pulled up into a tight bun with a few strategically placed wisps framing her face to soften the overall look. She is a beautiful and striking woman to look at, fully embracing that high end corporate fashion like she was born wearing it.

Harry's inner Valkyrie bristles the instant she walks into the room. He takes a deep breath before he turns around, telling himself his reaction to her mere presence in the room is ridiculous, the woman had done nothing to him. He is startled into stillness when he lays eyes on her, flashing back suddenly to another redheaded woman who had once been so precious to him. The two woman had absolutely nothing in common aside from the same shade of hair and skin color, but it was enough to sends him mentally reeling

Her face lights up when she sees Tony sitting at the table, rushing over to him with a girlish squeal of excitement. Tony grins back getting up from his chair, catching her around the waist as she flings herself into his arms and spins her around before setting her back down on the floor, kissing her affectionately on the cheek. Rhodey arches a brow in surprise, glancing over to a stone faced Harry before clearing his throat nervously. Harry turns back to the stove without saying a word, trying to keep his mind in the present day, instead of lingering in a life long past. This Pepper woman didn't deserve the hostility he still held in his heart for Ginny and her callous actions.

"Pepper! You look great, as always. Let me introduce these other guys here. Over there is James Rhodes, but just call him Rhodey, and the one at the stove making us all breakfast is Harry Sinclair, they're the ones I told you about." Tony gestures to each in turn and Pepper nods with a polite smile, her pale blue eyes lingering on each for a just a couple of seconds assessment as she primly introduces herself as Virginia Potts, preferably Pepper, then smooths her skirt before sitting down at the table next to Tony.

Once introductions were made Harry began setting out what he finished cooking for them and they all set about fixing their plates amid conversation. They talk about school at first, the tone is light, friendly, and inquisitive; but as things move from academics to some of the wild parties Tony and Harry regularly went to Pepper becomes quieter and quieter. Her eyes darting between Tony and Harry as they seem to fall into their own little conversation bubble, laughing as they both recall various hijinks, reckless stunts and embarrassing moments of fun. Not thinking anything of it, the boys didn't bother to hide the amount of alcohol or party drugs that featured in some of the events. Even Rhodey jumped in to add his own bits, namely the amount of times he found himself saving their butts from their own stupidity, usually from fights or broads that were either insane or pissed off at Tony.

By the time the meal was over, the three boys were laughing at one another, missing Pepper's silent seething, or the micro glares she was sending Harry from under her lashes, even as she makes polite sounding noises when conversation requires her to do so. In her own mind she determines Harry is the source of Tony's dangerous misbehavior. From the stories she's listening to this Harry Sinclair has been in the thick of it with Tony, is even now blatantly encouraging of this poor showmanship of Tony's character. Tony could be so much more without this person in his life, she just knew it. However, now was not the time or place. They had a funeral to attend, and Tony would leave Harry behind after college, she's going to make sure if it.

They quickly clean up after the meal, leaving the dishes in the sink for later as Tony calls the limo around to the front. They climb into the car quietly, the earlier playful atmosphere is gone now that it was time to drive over to the funeral home for the wake services. Tony anticipates that they will be there most of the rest of the day. Between the needed security hired, the media, and various guests paying their respects Tony knew it was going to be a long, drawn out and stressful event.

The limo ride is, thankfully short and they exit the vehicle, entering the funeral parlour just as they are finishing arranging the last of the flowers. Guest are scheduled to begin arriving in an hour, so Tony wanders over to speak with the staff about any last minute problems. Pepper makes a small move to join him, but Harry is already there at his side, cutting her short, though he doesn't appear to even notice that he has done so.

Frowning Pepper settles back into place, staring frostily at Harry's back for a moment before turning away. Her eyes meet Rhodey's dark brown ones, and she feels a faint chill course through her veins, she can't read the emotion in them. Offering him a soft friendly smile she engages him in meaningless conversation about their respective families, he participates without hesitation so she firmly pushes her unease from her mind. She hadn't done anything wrong, he has no reason to be anything other than warm to her, she was being paranoid.

James Rhodes is not stupid. He picked up on the tension earlier this morning from Harry. The pretty green eyed boy is usually so relaxed and unguarded around himself and Tony. He is aware of Pepper's watchful eyes on both boys time and again, because he is watching her, watching them. Though she hasn't yet done anything obvious; is warm, polite and friendly, Rhodey can still sense something off about her manner. It isn't until her aborted motion catches his attention that he finally has a solid puzzle piece. Unsure just what he is looking at yet, he allows himself to be pulled into conversation with her, he has no reason to be rude yet, if at all.

Thankfully the playacting doesn't last long, guests are beginning to arrive.

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With the wake done, the burial scheduled for the next day, all of them are tired and a little crabby by the time they get back to Stark mansion. None of them feel like cooking so Tony comes up with the idea to order dinner from somewhere instead. Piling into the living room and kicking their shoes and dress jackets off, Rhodey suggests pizza and some action movies to kill a few hours until they went to sleep. Getting a general consensus Tony flips his phone open and places the order.

When questioned by Pepper on why he doesn't order his usual greasy meat lover's, he just shrugs his shoulders and says that he'll split Harry's veggie with him. Unaware of the girl's discreet, but unhappy look in Harry's direction, he turns to debate with said boy about which action movie to put on. Rhodey chimes in with a couple of classics and one is finally settled on within a few minutes after the pizza arrives.

Tony at some point during pizza and watching the movie gets up to grab a glass of scotch from the bar and sits back down on the couch next to Harry. Sliding his plate in front of him from across the coffee table. Without a word Harry reaches over and plucks the glass from Tony's hand, sipping at it as he watches the explosions on the TV screen, oblivious to Pepper's incredulous and furious gaze. Tony doesn't say anything at all, just taking a few bites of his own slice before stealing the same glass back out of Harry's hand.

By this point Rhodey is watching the three of them out of the corner of his eye, half amused. Wondering how much longer it would take before the girl lost her temper at his two clueless friends. He tries to figure out if she is more upset about the alcohol, or the boy's close relationship. Neither one of the two had done anything to hint that they were more than old friends, but women were more intuitive in general. His mother constantly proves this to him on a regular basis. Still, he isn't entirely certain that her issue is jealousy, she has too tight a control on her responses for him to be positive of anything other than that she doesn't like Harry. Ironically, Rhodey had gotten the impression earlier that Harry doesn't much like Pepper either, though his own strategy seems to be to simply ignore her as much as politeness allows him too.

Later, with movies watched and pizza consumed, they all trudge sleepily up to their rooms to get some shut eye. Grumbling a gruff goodnight and a reminder for Tony not to wake him up again, Rhodey goes into his room next to Harry's for the night. Pepper tries to linger with Tony in the hallway, asking him about some of the paintings that are featured on the walls. Seeming puzzled, Tony admits he knows little to nothing about them, ending the last second attempt at conversation swiftly, much to her frustration.

Turning to Harry, Tony offers a goodnight with a sly grin before going into his own room across the hall from Harry's and closing the door. Shaking his head Harry says goodnight to Pepper for politeness sake and goes to bed, leaving the woman standing in the hallway fuming. With a soft growl she stalks down the hallway to her own bedroom and closes the door with a little more force than was probably needed. Not that any of the three boys noticed.

A few hours after everyone has gone to sleep Tony again creeps into Harry's room to stay the night with him. He curls up innocently against Harry's side, smiling when he wakes up enough to sleepily wrap Tony up in his arms. They stay that way until the next morning creeps in on them, forcing them reluctantly awake to face the rest of the day. This morning is quiet between them, involving more kisses and snuggles than sexual activity. Once showered, Tony slips carefully back into his own room to dress, leaving Harry to wander downstairs on his own.

Deciding on pancakes once he paws through some of the cabinets, Harry sets about making a bunch of them along with some fresh fruit and scrambling some eggs with cheese. Eventually Rhodey drifts down into with Tony at his side, the both of them deep in discussion of something technical that Harry doesn't bother to try and follow at the moment. Tony smoothly saunters up to his side, tries to steal an apple slice off the cutting board on the counter and gets his hand smacked by the spatula in Harry's hand in retaliation, causing Rhodey to cackle at him mockingly. Tony gives him absolutely pathetic wounded blue puppy eyes and pouts at him, rubbing the back of his stinging hand like the Valkyrie had beaten him. Harry just rolls his eyes and picks up the apple piece that Tony had been after, leaning over to feed it to him and pecking him lightly on the lips before shooing him away so he can finish cooking. Behind him Rhodey makes a fake gagging noise, Tony threatens to withhold coffee and the two are off again squabbling like children.

This last part is the scene that Pepper walks into when she enters the kitchen. Still dressed in black, but with a softer ruffled skirt and blouse set with her hair down, she arches a brow at them, saying nothing as she maneuvers around them to get at the coffee machine next to Harry. Fixing herself a cup she leans against the counter, pale blue eyes bouncing like they were in a tennis match from one boy to the other, a little grin dancing over her lips.

Harry glances at her from the side in curiosity before sliding a ready made plate in her direction without a word. She looks over at him and nods, picking up the plate and goes to sit at the table, interrupting their bickering with her presence. Tony pops up from his seat after seeing the food and wanders over to Harry, grabbing two other ready made plates as Harry finished up the last couple pancakes, turning off the stove and taking his own plate to sit down and eat.

They get through the meal quickly, wanting to get to the grave site before it's swarming with reporters all looking for pictures, or an interview, or something else equally inappropriate and ridiculous. Tony makes sure to include dark sunglasses with his outfit, not wanting the press to get much of anything from his expressions. Obadiah Stane would be at the burial service, having missed the wake because of something at Stark Industries. Neither Tony nor Harry were really looking forward to seeing the man. Harry because he thought the man was pushy and overstepping his bounds, Tony because the man was his father's best friend, and he didn't truly mourn the passing of either of his parents.

Harry is silent throughout most of the morning and the drive over to the graveyard, knowing that the upcoming service is going to be difficult for him. Already he was pushing away unwanted memories that were creeping up on him, and they hadn't even officially started yet. When they get to the site there are already a few people standing around in business suits. Tony steps forward to introduce himself to them, discovering that they are some of the board members from his father's company.

Pepper joins Tony, charming the board members, surprising them and Tony, with her general knowledge of the company and her ability to keep up with them in technical conversation. Pepper blooms under the attention, pleased that she can show herself to Tony in this positive light. Stepping aside to let Tony deal with them, since he was more familiar with Stark Industries than she was.

Harry moves over to look out over the graves, seeing another time and place far away in his mind. Remembering the many people who would never continue their lives, never grow up as his own children had, never continue on in any way at all. Rhodey walks over to join him, quietly studying his expression, but not speaking, then looking out over the gravestones as well. They stayed there until the priest was ready to begin. As Harry turns away to join the gathered crowd, he pauses, staring out at a dark figure he recognizes all too well. Death had apparently come for the services, though he couldn't fathom why.

Harry takes his place on one side of Tony, Obadiah had shown up at some point and was standing on his other side. The priest speaks for a long time in latin, the crowd is silent as they listen. After a time the priest falls silent, head bowed in apparent prayer, then announces in english that now is the time to say goodbye, and the coffins are slowly lowered into the ground.

Tony and his friends remain standing in one place as the rest of the crowd passes by the graves, some speaking briefly, others dropping flowers. They all stop at one point to offer their condolences to Tony. The last of the people to leave is Stane, letting Tony know they would speak more later, until finally everyone was gone.

For several minutes Tony just remains standing there looking at the headstones, then he turns and walks away, without a word, towards the limo. In silence, knowing full well how Tony felt about the whole thing, Harry walks by his side, Rhodey only a few strides behind them. Pepper frowns in concerned confusion at Tony's back, obviously expecting something more.

"Tony...don't you want to say goodbye to them?" She asks, taking a few hesitant steps after him before stopping, baffled by his cold dismissal.

"I have absolutely nothing to say to either of them. We haven't had anything to say to one another in years Pep. So no, not really."

Tony doesn't stop, or pause as he leaves. After a moment, Pepper rushes to catch up so they can all return to the house for the night. Tomorrow, they would all be returning to school life and things would go on. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watches as Death keeps pace with them at about a fifteen foot distance, but fades away into nothingness when they reach the car and get inside.


	7. The Lonely Years

_**Disclaimer:** SynTech Research and Gemini BioTech are real companies, they do not belong to me, I am merely borrowing the names for this AU_

 _ **A/N:** Warnings for language, mentions of murder_

 _Thoughts are in Italics_

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There are two unexpected, and unwelcome, guests waiting for Harry when they return to Stark mansion from the funeral services. Harry is a bit baffled when he is informed by one of the staff that these guests have been waiting for him for some time for him to arrive. Stressed and stretched thin emotionally from the long day, Harry is absolutely not happy with the unannounced surprise adding to an already exhausting afternoon. Striding quickly from the front door, down to hall to the indicated room with Tony, Pepper and Rodney on his heels. He opens the heavy wooden door and pauses in the doorway as displeasure sweeps through him. Kiran and Meloth, dressed neatly but simply in pressed slacks and button downs, both sitting in one of the offices in plush chairs, drinking the sad American version of tea and quietly conversing.

Looking up as the door opens, they gather themselves to their feet and smile warmly. Nonchalant, as though their sudden inexplicable appearance in Tony's large California home is not something that Harry is going to have to figure out how to explain to Tony on the fly when he asks who they are. Which he does, almost immediately. Moving from his spot blocking the door Harry enters the room, mind scrambling frantically. Thinking quickly on his feet, Harry introduces them to Tony and the others as board members of his father's own medical research company. To Harry's relief, Tony quickly loses interest and excuses himself to shower and change, taking Rodney and Pepper with him as he left. Letting out a soft breath, he closes the office door firmly before turning to regard them with open annoyance.

"You two better have an exceptionally good reason for being here of all places, especially now." He intones frostily. Harry walks over to one of the armchairs, stripping off his dress jacket, laying it carefully over the back of the chair before sitting down, arching a slender brow at their silence. They both exchange glances with one another, but sit back down. It's Kiran that speaks first.

"We were hoping to catch you before you left school. We weren't expecting the burial arrangements to be made so quickly. " He whispers.

Harry frowns at them in confusion. "I'm not understanding how you two even knew about the funeral in the first place, or where I was going to be."

Again they share a commutative glance, this time it was Meloth that spoke to him. "Harry...you were so upset about this Howard and Maria...It is a fair assumption that you have taken Tony as your own. The Starks were a threat to his safety and well-being. They were to care for him when for years he suffered. So we spoke to the right people about alleviating the problem. Our intention was to inform you before you received news. However, everything happened so quickly, you were already here before we got the chance."

Harry stares at them for what seemed like hours when it was actually minutes. On the outside he showed no emotion, his body still and unmoving. But on the inside his emotion ranged from shock to anger. "Are you saying…" He begins slowly, "That their car accident was in fact, not...an accident." He asks but did not wait for an answer. "That this was done purposely? Have you two lost your bloody fucking minds?!" He finishes with with a low rumbling growl deep in his chest, trying to keep from shouting at them and alerting the entire house to his upset. "What the bleeding hell were you both thinking?!"

They both wince at his tone, Kiran dropping his eyes to the ground submissively while Meloth tilts his chin up in defiance. "Tony Stark belongs to you. You have made this abundantly clear to us." He tells Harry pointing to himself and Kiran." Even if you have not announced it to the rest of our people. And even if you choose not to announce it he is still a companion you hold dear to your heart. His pain is your pain. Threats to his person is a threat to yours. And our people will not tolerate harm to come to you. You are our last connection to your mother and the royal bloodline. You will be protected by your people, even if you disagree with us on this matter." He tells Harry unapologetically.

Harry rises from the chair, turns away from them, and walks over to the large window that sits on one side and stares out. Struggling to wrap his mind around any of it. The two remain quiet behind him, probably afraid to speak in the wake of Harry's calm. Harry didn't know where to even begin or how to vent his temper after Meloth's little speech. Finally he takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly in an effort to calm his emotions and gather his thoughts. He turns back around and faces them. A frown on his face, with his arms crossed over his chest to show his annoyance.

"First of all, I am disappointed by your actions. I never gave my consent to take such measures against the Senior Starks. I do not in good conscience fathom where you two would think I would want them killed and to make such a big decision without speaking to me first. I am angry because you took away my right to seek vengeance on those who hurt him! "

Harry runs his hands threw his hair stopping at his braid. "This will have consequences beyond my personal protection, or Tony's. Secondly, how dare you! You are correct that I consider Tony to be mine, which means all decisions concerning things like this are MINE to make, not yours in some misguided attempt to serve or protect. Did you even consider the impact this will have on my relationship with him?" Harry did not wait for an answer. "They are not like us, this sort of elimination is not acceptable to them. I very much doubt he will understand my level of possessiveness." He must look a bit menacing because Meloth, who rarely backs down, scent changed to anxiety. Harry ignores it and continues to berate them. "I can lose him over this, do you understand? I likely will! Why in deity's name did you to think this was a sensible choice to remedy the situation? You now expect me to stand in front of him and tell him that I am the indirect cause of his parents murder? How well do you think that will go?!" At Harry's yell a crystal vase sitting on a shelf behind him flew across the room and smashed into the door breaking into tiny pieces.

A soft gasp went unheard as the breaking of the vase cuts off the rest of his rising rant, causing him to glance nervously towards the door. Harry has never gotten so angry before or displayed such power either. However, they had more pressing things to deal with at the moment. And that has been put on his list of things to research about his past life.

Unseen and unnoticed by Harry, his guests, or the other staff and residents of the mansion, Pepper creeps away from the door, her mind reeling at everything she has overheard. In her eagerness to leave before she is caught, Pepper makes her way back to her room quickly. _Harry Sinclair is a murderer! Or he has hitmen! Is he some sort of British mafia boss? Wait, one of them mentioned his being apart of the royal bloodline. Could he be in line for the throne? Just who the hell is he really? Why did I not know about this alleged relationship between him and Tony?_

She slips further down the empty hallway her feet bare, debating on what she is going to do with this new information. How best it would benefit her in the long run. Harry is apparently a very dangerous man, and comes from a dangerous family. She will need to be extremely careful. As she goes into her room, softly closing the door behind her, Pepper leans back against it, and sinks to the floor. Continuing to make her plots. _Should I tell Tony before Harry really hurts him or has him killed?_

Pepper tosses that idea aside almost immediately, if it is true that Tony and Harry are together Tony would be unlikely to believe anything she has to say on the matter. Tony would go straight to Harry with the information and all Harry would need to say is that it is not true...Pepper knows she sure as hell would, and Pepper will likely end up dead at some point later, by 'accident;. Pepper makes up her mind that she wants to use the information to drive a wedge between Harry and Tony; to make Harry disappear forever. _Lets hope I am not killed over it. The direct approach will not work, I will need to look for the perfect time to strike._ Pepper decides to keep all that she knows to herself, smiling in glee at the mischief she is going to cause with her juicy information. Happy with her plot, Pepper moves over to her suitcase to find something more comfortable to change into.

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Back in the office, a few tense minutes of silence envelopes the room. No one burst into the room at hearing the smashed and broken vase. Sure that they were not going to be disturbed, Harry turns from the door, facing Kiran and Meloth. He moves back over to the armchair and sits down dropping his voice almost to a whisper. "Do you have any concept at all of the damage you have done? Either of you?"

The defiant posture Meloth had subsided, however, he met Harry's eyes boldly with his own. "Punish us if you must, it was never our intention to cause harm to you and yours. Never! Our desire was to protect you and the man you claim as yours."

"Don't you understand that this is something I would not have asked you do to? Despite Tony's poor relationship with his parents I am doubtful that he would want them dead. Even if he did, I would not have have given the order to have it done. Doing this can bring unwanted exposure to our kind. Did you think about those consequences? Did you think about the burden I will have to carry in order to keep this from him? I will not risk exposure of our people to the humans because of your actions. " Harry replied firmly.

"My Lord!" Came the soft voice of Kiran, a similar look of distress crossing both their features.

"If he were your bondmate, there are spells, and other protections in place for those of us who have taken human lovers and partners like your Tony. These protections have been in place since you were a child. Your mother foresaw that some of our people might bond with humans. The Queen made sure we are able to be with our human partners and stay hidden. Unfortunately, it only works for bonded mates, the bond is what anchors the spell."

The room is silent. Harry close his eyes and leans back in his chair, letting the words wash over him in his mind, deepening the well of despair that opened up in the pit of his stomach. "That does me little good at this point in time. Neither Tony and I are not old enough to bond. There are years to wait before I am twenty one and there is no guarantee that he will be my mate."

Struggling with his feelings of frustration, rage and sorrow battling for dominance within him. He pushes it away as best he can until Harry feels himself goes numb. A familiar feeling of cold and nothingness creeps through his limbs at a slow and steady pace. It is the same feeling he encountered at the pinnacle the of war in his previous life. When the only way to move forward, to complete whatever needed to be done was to disconnect himself emotionally. His facial features smooth out, his breathing is steady, and he opens his eyes. He was not aware he closed them in order to center himself.

Gazing across the coffee table to his two Valkyrie guests; he finds them not in their seats where they had previously been a few moments ago. But instead they are nearly plastered to the floor in postures of submission. Their eyes looking up at him in obvious concern. Harry is confused at their reaction, however he soon figures out what has them so shaken. Despite the enforced manufactured serenity of his mind and body. His magic is anything but tranquil, choosing this moment to manifest itself through his raging emotions. It swells, surges and rolls around the room like an angry ocean squall trapped in a small confined area. Vibrates through the furniture and rattles the tea set on the coffee table violently. It is a wonder it has not shattered into tiny little pieces. The walls groan softly in stressed threat at the pressure they contain, as though Harry's magic is a physical force pushing against them.

A strange feeling inside of Harry raises its head and purrs in pleasure at the sight of their distress. This feeling viewed the others in the room as if they are the perpetrators. Harry's emotions are distant, leaving him feeling dull and empty inside. The only emotion he can feel strongly is anger. Harry needs to reel in his emotions, with this new surge of power he could cause damage to himself and others in the room. His rage spiraling out of control accomplishes nothing. Harry takes calming breaths to box up this loose and wild magic hoping that it will work. Harry finds a way to burn it off the excess energy. Mentally he nods to himself, then turns his raging emotions into thousands of little ball of light. Harry watches as the lights whirl around the room changing from violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Slowly the pressure in the room begins to ease as the new magical energy begins to taper off. The walls quiet, the vibrations lessens, surprisingly the tea set remains unbroken. However, there is spilled tea on the table. In a seemingly unperturbed state, he arches one dark eyebrow at the two still remaining on the floor, noticing they were watching the light show in a mixture of wonder and trepidation. Clearing his throat, their gazes instantaneously snap back towards him, fixing their full undivided attention on his person.

"Get up and take your seats. You are safe enough." Retaining their submissive posture, they obey him in silence, and sit back down.

"You will tell me everything you know about the protections for mixed bondings. How is it they have knowledge of our existence, yet they cannot expose us?" Harry ignores the lights dancing around the room brushing them to the side.

Kiran straightens in his seat, leans forward just slightly as he spoke. Eager to sooth Harry's temper and hopefully get himself and his brother out the front door in one piece. "I'm uncertain of the exact spellwork my Lord. Neither my brother or I are magi, outside of the minor glamour our people inherited at birth. However, your mother was stronger when it came to magic than most. She created a spell with some of our magi that will bind human partners from speaking of us without the spell holder's permission. The holder of the binding spell would be the Valkyrie partner, of course."

Harry nods thoughtfully, his mind slips briefly into his past life to the unbreakable vow. It sounds similar, however, such a spell was useless with muggles because they had no magic to tie the vow to. "Is it possible to break the binding? Are there consequences?"

Kiran shook his head. "No my Lord, it cannot be broken by anyone save the holder of the spell. It's not foolproof of course, there are unpleasant ways around the binding. Torture for example, if someone were to capture the Valkyrie, or were to harm the human in front of them and force compliance. But I don't believe such a situation to be likely. The human governments have no inkling that we are here."

Harry smiles slightly. "So once I learn this binding spell, I can tell Tony about us, if he is indeed my mate." The smile quickly fades from his lips. "Except my people killed his parents. No matter how he feels about them, I don't think he'll let something like that go."

Kiran's shoulders slump at Harry's melancholy tone. "I'm sorry my Lord, it was never our intention to cause such problems for you. Only to protect the both of you from further harm as discreetly as we could."

Harry shook his head. "What's done is done, and cannot be undone. Just don't do something like this again without speaking to me about if first. I'll have to figure out a way to handle Tony on my own."

Meloth finally spoke up. "You are going to tell him then?"

"I cannot at this point as I mentioned earlier. I will not risk him exposing all of us in his anger. The lives and safety of our people outweigh my personal happiness. I just hope that if Tony does turn out to be my mate, he can forgive me, and understand why I kept such a horrible thing from him. I highly doubt keeping the truth from him will endear me to him though. You know as well as I do, if he does turn out to be my mate, the bonding will allow no secrets between us. He would find out, regardless." Harry sighs softly and stands from his chair, waving a hand to dismiss the now lazily floating orbs of light. "If there is nothing else world shattering, I would like for you two to go back home. I have much to think on."

Without protest, they both rise from their seats, gather their jackets and follow Harry to the front door to leave. Murmuring their goodbye, Harry close the door behind them. He turns to make his way to his bedroom to change out of the suit he wore to the funeral earlier in the day. While it is late, there was still a few hours to spend with the others before sleep. He didn't know how he was going to be able to be in the same room as Tony and not want to hide himself away in shame of his terrible secrets.

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He finds Tony and Rhodey in the living room watching TV and talking. Without saying anything Harry walks over to sit next to Tony, leaning slightly into his side. Tony keeps talking with Rodney but shifts enough to slide an arm over the back of the couch around Harry's back, fingertips lightly brush the back of his neck in affection. Closing his eyes Harry basks in Tony's closeness for a while; tuning out the TV and conversation as he let his thoughts twist and turn over the day's events in his mind. While the funeral had been stressful in its own right, it was the presence of the entity Death that has him perplexed. He couldn't understand what the significance of its being there meant, or if it meant nothing at all and simply wanted to check in on him. Deciding that he really had nothing further to connect the visit to, he lets it go, simply keeping it in the back of his mind to reexamine later if something changed.

That left him with the awful situation with Tony. He knew that there's really nothing he could do. No matter his personal feelings on what he wants to do, he can and will not tell Tony and risk the safety of his people. It will break his heart but he has to keep this secret to himself. Harry is sure sure that Tony will never forgive him when he finds out, nothing stays a secret. His luck often seemed to run that way when it came to his personal life.

Sighing softly, Harry snuggles closer, wanting comfort, but knows he wouldn't be able to explain to the other boy why. Opening his eyes he just observes the other two boys interact, a little smile tugging the corner of his mouth despite his blue mood. Tony's arm drops from the back of the couch to around his waist. For now, all he could do was enjoy the time he had.

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Harry spends months after they returned to their respective schools agonizing over his decision. Even if he knows that it can not be changed. He does his best to keep his sadness away from Tony, and for the most part it works. Tony is often buried in his work, but Harry is careful of his actions around Tony. He forgets all about Rhodey and his keen brown eyes. After a while, Rhodey tries to coax Harry into talking about whatever it is that is bothering him, but Harry demurely implies that it was family issues, and never says more. Eventually, Rhodey backs off again and just returns to watching, which is fine with Harry. Rhodey does his best to take care of all three of them without being overly intrusive. Soon it is the end of their last year, with Tony and Harry both nineteen now, and with graduation creeping up on them, Harry begins to panic for a whole other set of reasons entirely.

Tony in the last few weeks has been talking a lot about what he is going to do after graduation. He happily states that he is going to move out of his family's home, and move to the home his family has in Malibu. It is a place he enjoyed visiting as a child with his mother on vacation. He talks about what he is going to do with his father's company now that he belongs to him. Tony also talks about the new types of technology he wants to build. None of this initially alarms Harry, until Tony start to drop what he thought are subtle hints about Harry moving to the states with him.

Harry should have seen this conversation coming from a mile away. They've been together now for roughly a year or more. It is natural for Tony to want them to move their relationship further beyond school. Harry had his own graduation plans. When he graduates he plans on working in his father's company, with his own research team, to improve the lives of his own people. The idea of not being with Tony did not cross his mind. He was completely blindsided by the reality that their lives would literally be an ocean apart from each other.

At first Harry is neutral in his responses to Tony's enthusiasm. Not giving a conclusive answer he tries to figure out how to fix this glaring oversight on his part. Tony's life is in California, while Harry's is in England. If it had been a question of where Harry would work, then Harry could have happily went to California with Tony. His family would have understood even if they did not care for the distance. Running a research team for his father's company did not require him to live in Britain. But, Harry's people are all based in the UK, and he refuses to leave them without an easy access to him. There is simply no way that Harry could move to California with Tony, not at this very moment. The worst of it all, is Harry has absolutely no idea how to tell Tony no, and not have it be the end their relationship. Harry can think of no valid reason for him to not move in with Tony, other than blatantly lying to Tony's face. Before Harry can figure out a way to do this without lying to Tony, it all blows up in his face. In horrible, spectacular and dramatic fashion. Thanks to Pepper.

It starts out innocently enough, classes are finished for the year and they have several days before the graduation ceremony. Pepper flew out to spend some time with them all and be there for their graduation. Tony suggests they grab dinner out and head to a party he knows about that should not be too wild, that can still be fun. They all agree, with a little reluctance on Pepper's part. They are having a wonderful time goofing off at the diner where they stop to eat. Harry looks around the table and notices a calculating look in Pepper's eyes before she asks Tony about whether or not he was going to go back to California after school. A topic Harry is uncomfortable with at the moment. To Tony and Rhodey it does not seem suspicious for her to ask. But the question brings tension to the table.

Harry keeps his head down and pushes the food around on his plate with his fork, hoping that no one will drag him into a conversation he is not ready to have yet. Rhodey, the best bud that he is, picks up on Harry's unease and smoothly jumps in to attempt heading the conversation off in a different direction. It works for a few minutes, until Pepper asks him directly what his plans were for after school. Harry shrugs his shoulders, and lifts his head to look her in the eye as he responds. He purposely avoids Tony's intense gaze and answers Pepper's question. "I'm not really sure yet." He says with another shrug "I've known for a while now that I will be working in my father's research department. On what though I do not know."

She smiles at him warmly and it puts him on edge. He's known instinctively for a while now that this woman is likely dangerous. And to top it off he has a feeling that she does not care for him. The knowledge does not stress him much, the truth is he does not care for her either. Yet because she has not caused any trouble and her friendship with Tony he grins and bears her presence. Now he senses something different entirely, her smile more a threat than invitation, in spite of her sweet disposition. "That sounds like a fairly flexible position, you should be able to do quite a bit with that. Were you planning on returning home to England, or staying here in North America?"

Harry grits his teeth in frustration, certain now from her manner that she is doing this on purpose. "I haven't actually made up my mind yet, or spoken with my family about it. As I mentioned, I'm not really sure what he'll have me doing research wise. I might have to return, I might not. He might need me somewhere else entirely. I don't know."

Pepper takes a sip of her soda, frowning slightly at him in apparent concern. "Well shouldn't you get in contact with your father? Graduation is only a few days away, I'm sure you'll want them here for it, surely you'll know before then what's going on?"

Tony's eyes darted back and forth between them, wanting the answer himself but not wanting an argument between his friends either. He cuts in before the conversation can escalate into something unpleasant. "Harry's father is always traveling around the world Pepper, Harry can't always get a hold of him right away. The best he can do sometimes is leave messages. I'm sure Jasper or Alice will let Harry know what's going on as soon as they can. They are going to be here for graduation though, right Harry?"

Harry nods, relieved that Tony can shut Pepper up for the moment, though he has a feeling that she isn't going to give up so easily on whatever it is she's after. "Yes, mother promised they would both be here for graduation, so if nothing else I know that I can speak with them both then."

The conversation smoothly turns to something else after that, though Harry is aware of both Tony and Pepper darting little glances at him throughout the meal. For the most part Harry ignores it the best he can, silently praying it will all blow over once they get to this party Tony is insistent they go to. It's not long after that they pay for their meal and leave to head off campus. When they arrive the place is already fairly busy and Tony happily scampers off to find them all some drinks while they mingle. Rodney runs into a few people and wanders off to talk with them, leaving Harry alone with Pepper. She leans over to speak to him once it was obvious Rhodey isn't coming back right away, and Tony seems to have vanished in the crowd.

"You should go back to England and stay there, before you ruin Tony's life." She states casually, like her words weren't completely ridiculous.

Harry turns to her, emerald green eyes spitting fire, expression incredulous. "Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say to me?"

She straightens up, crossing her arms and smiling sweetly. "I said, you should leave for England after graduation and not come back, before you completely ruin Tony's life."

Harry nods, grinning back at her sharply, all teeth and threat, though his fangs were not yet showing. "Yea. That's the crazy shit I thought I heard you babble." It is then he realizes she wants Tony for herself. "You want him for yourself don't you Pepper? And I'm in your way." He says to her. "Tell you what, the only way I will leave Tony is if he tells me so himself. So you can take whatever little idea you have concocted in that redhead of yours and shove it good and proper." Harry snaps at her. "Preferably somewhere painful." _Isn't it any wonder why I hate redheads?_

She laughs lightly, happily, as if they're having a casual and friendly conversation. "Oh I don't think so Harry. You see I know all about your little friends that came to visit you in California. I know you and your...people… are the cause for us being there in the first place. So, this is what's going to happen. You're going to go back to England, and you're going to have nothing to do with Tony for the rest of your pathetic life, or I'm going to tell him all about your sick little pow wow in his own home. And before you think you can make me disappear quietly, you should know that I have all this information recorded and tucked away where it can be found by the authorities." She didn't of course, but Harry didn't need to know that.

Harry tilts his head slightly, reining in the violent impulse to simply blast her to tiny little bits with a couple of spells. Unfortunately he was limited still in what he can do, he does not have a wand. He was restricted to minor magics at this point. Although he recalls much of the spellwork from his old life, Harry just started learning wandless magic. It is slow going at best. So, for the moment he is stuck acquiescing to this redheaded harpy who had somehow out maneuvered him when he wasn't looking. Blast Kiran and Meloth to hell for this entire mess. She was threatening more than just exposing Harry's indirect part of the Starks murder. She was threatening to possibly expose the existence of his race. He could not allow this to happen, he had to find a way around this, fast, or he was going to be forced to let Tony go. Regardless of his own wishes on the matter. Unfortunately, Harry currently has nothing he can work with.

 _Damn her._

Harry smiles at her again, gritting his teeth as he answers in a brittle tone. "It is inevitable that I return to my home anyhow Miss Potts. Your conditions are rather...unforeseen, I admit, but doable. However, may I remind you, if you should feel the need to discuss the events with him after I depart. The gap between when you discovered the information and when you tell him will also draw suspicion to yourself.. Tony is not a fool." The look on her face is priceless. _If only I could make her forget the things she heard, all this would go away..._ "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to try enjoying the rest of the next few days I have remaining."

Swiftly he turns away from her, and heads to the back door. He needs to leave the room altogether before he loses control of his temper and bloodies their walls. Pushing the door open he steps outside and walks a few feet away, taking in a few deep breathes to try and center himself. Harry starts when Rodney is suddenly at his side. Rhodey rests a hand on his arm, expression a mixture of concern and anger.

"What did she say?"

Harry shakes his head, and steps out of Rhodey's touch. His repressed emotions, feel as if they are about to vibrate through his skin. This is not something he can discuss with his friend. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. She just bugs me."

Rhodey snorts and crosses his arms over his broad chest, he eyes Harry up and down showing his clear disbelief. "Yea, whatever." Rhodey says. "How about you start with the truth? I know you better than that Harry, you do not get this upset over nothing. In fact, you are one of the calmest people I know. You do not lose that cool of yours without a very good reason." Rhodey says with a smile. "Whether she bugs you or not." Harry smiles at that, feeling his anger starting to wane. "You are British for Christ's sake, you guys make stoicism look like it's a national sport." He pauses and gets serious. "So tell me what did she say that upsets you this much?"

Harry can see the concern on Rhodey's face and contemplates telling him what is going on. But before Harry opens his mouth to speak Tony storms outside, and slams the door behind him as he stalks over to them. His voice strikes out at Harry like a sharp angry knife. "So you can tell Pepper, huh! But you can't tell me? I've asked you for months to stay with me Harry. _**Months!**_ And not once have you ever given me a straight answer, but you will answer her when she asks?" Tony reaches where they stand and wedges himself between Harry and Rhodey. He ignores the dark boy's exclamations and protests. Tony brings his hands up to shove at Harry's chest roughly, moving him back only a few inches. It was more than enough to get Harry's temper flaring again. Before he can open his mouth to retaliate Tony is in his face, and starts to shout again.

"What the fuck Harry? When the hell were you going to tell _**ME**_ that you are going back to England, and that you are going to stay there? That you aren't planning on coming back! Is that what all this meant to you?" Tony gestures between them "You are going to fuck off back to your little island and not say a God damned thing to me about any of it!" Harry's patience finally runs out, he's being pulled in too many directions. Between the demands of Pepper, Tony and his own people, he just can't keep up with all of it anymore. "Shut up! You don't know what the hell you're talking about! That woman," He says pointing to Pepper who walked out after Tony. "Is a viper and you're too damned blind to see it what is right in front of you! You don't bloody well know everything Tony, alright?! I have a hell of a lot more to consider than just you! So yes! I'm going back to England." He tells him, "That is something I can't fucking avoid! And no, I didn't know how to tell you!"

Tony just stares at him for a long moment, still clearly angry, finally he just turns away and heads back to the house. "It's really fucked up that I had to hear it from Pepper. Or that you would tell her but not me. Find your own fucking way back to your apartment. I don't ever want to see or speak to you." Tony does back inside, slamming the door as he went.

Harry and Rhodey stare in silence in the direction that Tony and Pepper took, before Rhodey turns back to Harry. "Give him time to cool down before you try to talk him. Now, you want to tell me what the fuck she said to you to send you running back to your mother country?"

Harry shakes his head and starts walking around to the front of the house, Rhodey on his heels, ignoring the questions about Pepper altogether. "I doubt Tony is going to let this blow over. I'm going to call a cab, stay here and have some fun, I'm not really in the mood for company anymore." He pulls out his cell phone and dials, leaving Rhodey on the front lawn as he walks down the street.

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Harry is correct in his evaluation, Tony is hurt and angry. In the last days before graduation he does not see or speak to Pepper or Tony. He sees Rhodey a few times. In spite of being encouraged to do so, Harry makes no effort to heal the deep rift between Tony and himself. There is not anything he can do to fix it. He can not stay in America, he is going home to his people who need him more, and Tony can not come with him. It broke his heart that things ended so ugly between them. Harry has nothing he could offer to Tony beyond his words of apology. He knew they would have little value to Tony. Offering words of apology will only anger Tony more. With the way Tony grew up, he values action over empty platitudes. At this point Harry can not provide evidence to back up his apology, so he remains silent and did not try to seek Tony out.

Harry spoke with his mother on the phone about graduation and makes arrangements to return home early. Despite her pleas, he refuses tell her why he made the decision not to attend the graduation. The day before Harry picks up his paperwork at the Dean's office, and grabs a plane home. He left a message on Rhodey's cell phone letting him know that he was alright and that he was on the plane to go home. Then turns it off and leaves it off for weeks, knowing the other boy will hound him until he answers and gives him an explanation. Harry can not force himself to go as far as changing his phone number.

When he returns home he is greeted with love and happiness from his parents. His people are joyous for his return and discreetly visit him to show their happiness. In a couple of months he has his own research team space set up as his father promised so long ago. Harry names his new infant company Gemini BioTech, and sends a silent nod to the star constellation of his people's birth, before they came to earth. The name of his company pleased his people. Their Lord is honoring their traditions.

The majority of Harry's research team are Valkyries, considering most of his work will center around benefiting their advancement. He moves out of his parent's home into his own home on the other side of London and buries himself in his work for his father, and the needs of his people. Until he fools himself into believing that he's happy with the way his life is.

Harry and his people in a few short years under his direct guidance move up in the world. Harry made sure that his people are high ranking positions across the globe. Positions such as Senators, Congressmen and woman. Influential positions such as lawyers and doctors. Even as far as the right hand man to the President of the United States, and the Prime Minister to the United Kingdom. And a few are stationed in the UAE (United Emirates). Harry secures places in certain parts of the world in order to bring the rest of his people to Earth. After his broken friendship with Tony, Harry falls deeply into into an unemotional state that seemed to serve him well during the war of his previous life. Harry realizes he is not in a war, but clings to the numbness as one would a comfortable pair of pants. Harry has a clear mind and is able to make decisions that his emotions will otherwise try to override. When he gathers enough personal capital Harry acquires a few companies, turns them into profits and employs more of his people to run them. Harry cannibalizes ones that cannot turn a profit and builds his bank account, in turn buying more companies. He repeats the cycle eagerly and viciously until he's making million dollars purchases like a shark who smells blood in the water. The analogy is not far off, with his emotions firmly locked away, Harry is ruthless and efficient.

Harry's name quickly becomes feared in boardrooms, his research team expands, he places his own people around him, until the only time he encounters humans is on the street, or when he visits his parents at home. Harry's human parents are well known in England and other European countries for the work the do in bio research. Harry's business practices precedes his reputation and becomes feared around the world. He is known to be driven, and lets nothing or no one stand in his way.

Harry is keenly aware of Stark Industries' reputation as weapons manufacturers. Stark Industries is neck and neck with Harry's growing company as it rises in the business world. Tony supersedes his father Howard by taking Stark Industries to the next level. Tony's reputation as an inventor is matched only by his reputation as a wild partying playboy. This further closes Harry's emotions off as evidence mounts that Tony's moved on with his life and has forgotten about him. Harry continues to bury himself into his work and the knowledge of his people. He hardens his heart against any softness that tries to creep in. Since Tony, Harry does not take any lovers, or let anyone get close to him. Kiran and Meloth are his two trusted advisors, and if Harry looks close enough, his friends. The only other person Harry keeps in touch with is Rhodey. Their conversation is always light and short as they update each other on their lives. It seems to be an unspoken rule that Tony's name is not brought up in their conversations. Harry focuses his time and efforts on building and buying companies, expanding his research as he leaves corporate devastation in his wake.

Harry is ruthless in his mission to make sure that his people are not discovered, he has no doubts that they will not be a secret forever. Harry makes sure that upon their discovery his Valkyrie can not be easily removed from everyday human society, that the majority of them were spread out and hidden like an insidious cancer. He makes sure that any attempt at their removal from this planet will ultimately fail. Over time as his companies and business dealing grows, Harry continues to place his people in the right position of certain government agencies. Even the ones that ordinary civilians do not know about. As their Lord, it is his duty to protect and ensure that his people will have a safe place to grow and thrive. Through out his short reign the Valkyrie people have grown. More children are born and their health has improved.

Along with his people's improvements; they are also key to many new biological agents to aide them in their goals. During the mating season Valkyries, who are not ready to find their mate can now take an electric blue colored elixir to ward off the mating heat. This is secretly mass produced in various warded buildings across the planet. Even with the advancements Harry still feels there is more that needs to be done. He and his research team are currently in the process of working to improvise an elixir that is able to either suppress the heat period altogether, or be usable as a contraceptive.

So much knowledge had been lost in the destruction of their planet that in many ways they had to start all over again. Harry's personal project is more long term and possibly impossible to achieve. Harry wants to know if it is possible to transform a human into a Valkyrie. More and more of his people are taking humans as their mates. What would the possibilities be if they are able to turn their mates successfully into a Valkyrie? Children of mixed matings are treated with the same respect as any full blooded Valkyrie. But eventually, Valkyrie would be bred out of existance if they continued to take human mates. Harry refuses to acknowledge that his personal goal has anything to do with Tony, and puts it the category of the needs and wants of ensuring the safety of his people.

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Director Nick Fury has been a member of SHIELD since its birth. There are things he knows to be on alert for and things that are everyday occurrences. For the past few years Nick Fury has kept a keen eye on the company Gemini BioTech, it's CEO and it's smaller branch companies which stem from the parent company SynTech Research based in England. The intel they have on SynTech Research indicates it is harmless. CEO Jasper Sinclair started the company from the ground up and from reports it has grown at a steady pace leaving other companies in its league in the dust. Gemini BioTech is a new and unknown entity ran by Jasper Sinclair's Heir. The company is expanding at an increasingly rapid rate beyond the norm in business circles. Acquiring smaller companies that are on their last leg and turning a profit in whatever way he could from them before moving on. According to Nick's well placed underground spies there are rumours of an unknown substances that could be potentially dangerous being massed produced by Gemini Bio Tech. Over the course of months SHIELD unsuccessfully tries to infiltrate them further by sending low grade spies. But before SHIELD'S agents can walk beyond the front door they are turned away. After so many tries Nick decides to send in his best spy, the lovely Natasha Romanoff also know as Black Widow. Her expertise in field work and infiltration never fails to get the job done. However, this time Black Widow was politely but firmly shown the door before she could get her first interview. There is no new information that SHIELD can gather on this Gemini company. Nick suspects that their CEO uses underhanded tactics, which is how he is able to grow his company on a global scale.

Nick attempts other tactics, such as trying to get close to Gemini BioTech's CEO Harold Sinclair, unfortunately they discover this to be an impossible path as well. The young CEO simply does not respond to any of their offered bait. Whether male or female it makes no difference. His entire focus is on the growth of his corporate empire and little else. SHIELD's top computer experts dig into Harold Sinclair's past, his school records and anything they can find of his personal life. Nick is disappointed when his experts came back with nothing but reports of a normal teenager graduated from college on time with a double major. There are no romantic interests, no close friends that they could find. No matter how Nick tries to gain information he cannot find anything that can incriminate the young CEO. The man is like a ghost. His public image controlled, and he carries himself with confidence. It made Nick suspicious and utterly angry.

The only confirmed intel Nick has on Gemini Tech and it's young CEO is the matching tattoos his employees wear on either their wrist or behind one ear. Neither Nick or any of his researchers recognize this particular design. It is a simple triangle that holds a circle with a solid line through the center of both. This baffles the experts Nick spoke to. He reluctantly came to the conclusion that this is something new, and they have no idea what it is, or meant. Without a doubt this company is much more than it seemed.

Grimly Nick glares down at a picture in his hand of the Deathly Hallows symbol he can't figure out. Reluctantly Nick resigns himself to watch Harold Sinclair and his company closely. He logs all the information they have on the young CEO and stores it in their data banks. He knows eventually Sinclair will screw up. SHIELD red flags the company as a primary concern with further ongoing surveillance investigation, and patiently waits.

Unknown to Nick Fury, a spy closely watches his every keystroke and move there after. His main purpose is to do his Lord's bidding and keep the knowledge of his people a secret and as protected as possible. A few months ago spies from SHIELD worked tirelessly to infiltrate Gemini BioTech, only to be thoroughly turned away. Not even the illustrious and sexy Black Widow managed to work her charms to get through the front door. His Lord is crafty and sly, tirelessly ensuring that essential people are placed in various organizations and governments. These spies wear his Lord's mark hidden very carefully on their person only to be seen by those of his own people. What Nick Fury will never know is that Harold Sinclair is one step ahead of SHIELD, with his own spy in place within their walls. The Director does not realize that the information he just logged into the database on Gemini BioTech and its CEO is carefully monitored and edited by one particular Valkyrie with a special password.


	8. The Burdens We Bare

_**A/N:** Warnings for language, graphic torture (sort of)_

 _Thoughts are in Italics_

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On the day Harry turns twenty one, he has no particular expectations. He treats it like an ordinary working day, though Harry could not decide if he wanted to work in the lab or the Corporate London office. After work he planned to go over to his parents house for a celebratory dinner with a small gathering of people he knows his mother will have invited. His mother Alice, will no doubt try to introduce him to some influential, ready to marry female and have her first grandchild within a couple of short years after that. Usually, it's some flirty woman he has little to no interest in, despite his mother's determination to see him married before he turns thirty. Harry consistently reminds her that he simply has no interest in settling down at this time. Yet, his mother is persistent in her attempts to find him a suitable wife.

When he protests her matchmaking, Alice simply smiles at him fondly, then declares that his work will always be there waiting for him, while a marriageable woman and family life will not. Harry rolls his eyes at the entire concept, he loves his mother but she frustrates him each time she brings up the conversation of marriage and grandchildren. _At least she does not try to throw some useless, bubble headed society climbers at me._ Her choices are always intelligent, tasteful women who are often pleasant and very good conversationalists, if nothing else. Aside from appreciating their intellect, he only responds to their physical beauty the same way another appreciates a painting or sculpture in a museum. With curiosity, acknowledgement of their attractiveness, but no sexual interest. Alice is always disappointed each and every time in her matchmaking results. Harry's father, Jasper, watched from the sideline either shaking his head or quietly laughing at Harry's predicament, depending on the day's results. Apparently his father never feels the need to save Harry from his mother's brand of insanity and chose the route of Switzerland instead.

Harry's morning begins the same way it always does. He gets out of bed just as the sun is peaking over the horizon, takes his shower and shuffles sleepily to the kitchen to find something to eat. When he walks over to sit down with his bowl of cereal and fruit Harry realizes he is not alone in his home. Standing before him in the doorway is Death. Death's appearance has not changed much from what he remembers seeing at the senior Stark's funeral. A pale, dangerously emaciated, filthy black haired woman; with sharp features, frail looking bird-like bone structure, and dull sunken lifeless black eyes. They stare at each other for a few moments in silence across the small distance that separates them. Harry still in the damp pajama bottoms he threw on long enough to eat something, the entity in a shapeless tattered black robe which appears to have seen better, and cleaner days. Slowly Death tilts its head to the side in an exaggerated movement all too reminiscent of a horror movie possession victim. The motion causes Harry to wince instinctively in bone deep revulsion of the motion's sheer unnaturalness. Death is clearly amused by Harry's discomfort, the entity cracks it's narrow lips in a wide smile, and bares dirty bloodstained teeth in a parody of a smile. A low grating and scraping noise rattles out from the wretched figure, making the hairs on Harry's arms stand on end. Harry pursed his lips in a frown as he realizes the awful sound is Death's laughter at his expense. Mentally he shakes off his reaction and huffs back at the creature, then walks over to his seat and casually sits in his chair. Harry plonks his bowl on the table. Harry's back faces Death as he tosses his words over his shoulder

"Cute, really. You can stop with the creepy as fuck theatrics any time now. You've gotten your laugh from it."

A soft breathy feminine laugh is his answer as the figure moves around from behind him, pulls out the kitchen chair with one near skeletal hand and sits down across the table from him. Its smile is softer now, but no less unpleasant. Death crosses her arms and rests them on top of the table, leans forward and rests her chin on them much like a child would. She then arches a patchy eyebrow at him. "I was hoping for a scream, was I not frightening enough?"

Harry nearly snorts out a spoonful of his cereal. "Oh you were horrifying, truly. Wherever did you find that body, it's frankly a masterpiece. Did you crawl through a cemetery with it?"

Death grins at him in delight, brushing dirt filled hair from her face. "A master never gives away the secrets of her best tricks my darling." She taunts, "I'll never tell." The smile fades from her lips as she watches him roll his eyes at her in reluctant amusement, then poke at his cereal "I came to wish my favorite and most loved mortal a Happy Birthday, and brought you gifts."

Harry raises his head from his bowl, scrunching his nose a bit in perplexity. "Gifts?"

Death nods, and reaches out with cold waxy hands to take one of his own. "Yes, gifts. Today Harry, you've reached your full maturity for your species. I feel that now is the appropriate time to return some things to you that you have sorely been missing these past twenty one years. I ask you to consider against leaving the safety of your home today, I feel it's ill advised. You will need time to adjust to your new changes once they are complete. There is a lot to go over, and it is important that you not interrupt me with questions until I am done with my explanations ."

Harry blinks at the entity in regards to her solemn tone, the urgency shocks him and slowly he nods. Harry gently untangles himself from her grip, stands, then murmurs a soft 'one second' before going into the bedroom to retrieve his cell phone. He hits speed dial, speaking quickly and softly with his secretary about his absence before he hangs up and returns to the kitchen where Death still sits. While in Harry's absence, several simple, light grey cloth wrapped parcels have appeared on the table in front of his guest. He looks at them curiously, sits down in his chair opposite Death, and gives her his undivided attention.

"I have taken a personal day, we will have no interruptions until late this evening." Death nods, and leans back in her chair. "Finish your meal and dress properly, we have a little bit of time. Since I have you for the day there is no need to hurry." Without protest Harry eats the last bit of his breakfast and goes into the bedroom to throw on jeans and a shirt, leaving his feet bare and then puts his long hair in a neat braid before he goes back out. He finds Death in the living room, looking at a painting his mother and the decorator she hired insisted has a place in his home. He walks over to stand beside her in silence. And waits for her to speak in her own time.

"I know your thoughts and memories are in constant disarray. Disjointed, and often times confusing. You recognize and understand things that you cannot explain to another person without sounding as if you belong in a mental ward. You remember places and people you have never been to or met before. You know magics and histories that are not your own. You recall life altering events in terrible dreams that scar your psyche even now with just the pale imitation of what actually occurred. You know me. Know with certainty, who and what I am. You feel no true fear of me, but you do not recall how it is you came to know me. Is this a fair assessment so far Harry?"

Harry's unfocused green eyes gaze into the distance as the past flashes before him. Harry nods his head absently as he listens to Death, his mind flutters here and there, and darts like a frantic hummingbird until he forcefully reins himself back in. Harry refocuses his attention on the present to see Death stood watching him intently from beside him. He clears his throat softly and answers, voice a bit strained and suddenly raspy. "Yes. I would call that a very accurate assessment of the situation."

Death nods her head, then takes Harry's hand lightly into her chilled grasp and leads him a few steps away from the painting into the center of the living room. "It is time I remedy the disturbance to your mind and soul." Death says, her corpse like hold releasing him as she steps back, and examines him critically to make sure Harry is in the spot she wants him in.

Gazing at her visage as he patiently waits, Harry finds he is less disturbed by her macabre mien as time goes on, he is now used to her strange appearance. His green eyes spark brightly in anticipation at her words, replying eagerly. "If you can fix this strangeness and the overlaps in my memories and reality, I will do just about anything you deem necessary to stop it. Whatever you think is best, whatever the price, so long as it finally stops."

A soft rattling sigh emerges from her chest. She reaches up and pats him lightly on the cheek in gentle rebuke. "You must be more careful with such sweet naive words my little Darkling. They can easily turn into a blade and thrust into your gentle heart. You have no need to worry about myself, of course my precious one, but others will certainly use them to harm you and yours."

Death steps back as she continues to speak, walking the perimeter of the room; closing curtains and blinds with a casual flick of her fingertips. Death begins to move furniture out of her path and away from the center of the room where he stood, with a lazy wave of her pale hand until the room was mostly clear. Harry watches her actions in a mixture of fascination and jealously, he deeply missed being able to use his own magic so carelessly.

"Now the first part of this is fairly simple." She says to him "I'm going to return the rest of your memories to you. Once they settle we will move on to the next step." Death turns back to him and walks into his personal space causing him to instinctively lean away from her presence. She prevents this by grabbing his upper arms firmly, and holds him in place as she stares intensely into his face for a couple of long tense heartbeats. Her own features void of emotions that resemble human expression. Harry realizes that whatever Death is about to do makes her nervous, yet he gives her his undivided attention. She quirks her lips in a strange smile. "Don't read anything into this." Death states flatly before she leans forward to firmly press her icy chapped lips to his own.

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Harry inhales sharply in shock. But before he can react his mind begins to swirl into a cascading flood of sensory overload. His awareness fades quickly from the present, it no longer looks as if he is in his own living room. The flashing landscape plunges Harry into his previous life from birth to death. Image after image flashes before him at a fast pace he cannot catalog or keep track of at all. Harry feels as if he is pushed out of his own body; freely floating in this kaleidoscope of overwhelming information. Harry felt and heard everything, he became aware of his five senses; it is as if he can smell everything around him. Sensations - vivid colors flash before his eyes, and reel frantically through his mind. Things seem to clamor and claw insistently for his attention. Harry tries to make sense of he sees, feels, and hears. Distantly, Harry hears screams and he cannot decipher who it is. Harry cannot tell the past from the present. Harry feels his perception lurch brutally, his world becomes chaotic and tilts violently, but he cannot pinpoint exactly how he knows this.

Suddenly everything stops and he is violently slammed back into his own flesh and bones. Feeling twisted and stuffed like he doesn't quite fit into his own skin anymore. Harry becomes aware of his heartbeat; it sounds like thunder to his ears. Harry looks down at his arms as if he can see his blood rush through his veins in a panic. Harry's chest aches when he tries to take deep gulping breaths; he feels like he is drowning for a moment and is desperate for oxygen. Sensations slowly normalize as Harry realizes that his face and hand is pressed into the carpet. It takes him few moments to figure out that he has somehow end up face down on the floor. Harry pushes himself up gingerly, his arms trembling as he forces himself to his knees to reorient himself. Harry's vision fades in and out, blurry splashes of color are the only thing he can see for the first couple minutes. His head throbs, like someone has taken an ice cream scoop and carved into his brain. Harry swore even his hair hurt. When his eyes can finally focus, his ragged breaths slow down; he sees Death sitting in front of him with dispassionate eyes, observing him as he struggles.

Harry shoots her a nasty glare as he tries to speak. His throat is raw from screaming and he quickly stops his attempt to speak. Harry huffs at her in displeasure. Death acknowledges the gesture with a simple raised eyebrow and nothing more. In silence she reaches to the side, picks up a glass of water from beside her and holds it out to him in offering. With shaky hands he accepts the cup, takes several small sips, and winces at the icy sting as it goes down. Harry notices that his shirt is torn and in shreds, it hangs off his body in a mess because his wings have ripped through the material. They drape against his shoulders limply, long feathers splayed over the carpet and around Harry haphazardly. He sees the lighting against the wall in the room changed in different angles from what he remembers it being before. Harry turns questioning green eyes towards Death, she seems to understand his inquiry and answers him without the need to hear him speak.

"While it may have only seemed like a few moments for you; several hours have passed as your mind assimilated and organized the rest of your old memories. The headache will fade in a short time. Once you are better we will continue with the rest of your other birthday gifts. After that you will most likely need to rest."

His head feels foggy and heavy. Until the pain passes, Harry doesn't even attempt to pull up any new memories. Death lifts one hand and makes a little gesture towards the kitchen doorway. After a moment the cloth wrapped parcels float in from the kitchen, setting themselves down in front of her once more. She reaches out to unwrap each one slowly. A long sought after wand is the first to be revealed. It is made of what appears to be ancient elder wood, roughly fifteen inches long with carvings of what Harry guessed were clusters of elderberries running down its length. To Harry it seems to hum happily when uncovered by the soft grey material, making the young man's lips curve upward slightly. Death moves on to unwrap the next item, a rather small something that was soon shown to be a small ugly black rock.

It causes Harry to frown, confused as to why she would give him a rock, but knowing that there must be more to it. It does not hum as the wand had, instead it gives off a cold aura confirming to him that the object is much more than it first appears to be. He turns his attention to the third and final object and feels a sharp jolt of recognition he had not felt with the other two. Carefully and gently Death unrolled the third object, revealing the grey cloth itself to be a shimmering cloak of wizard's style that is strangely familiar to him. "That's my dad's invisibility cloak." Harry croaks at her softly.

She nods. "It is the cloak that James Potter passed down to you, yes. Do you remember the other two objects yet?"

Harry frowns a bit, and sets the now empty glass down beside him as he gazes at the objects, and tries to recall where he saw the items before. "The Resurrection Stone, used to be a Horcrux for the Dark Lord Voldemort...and the Elder Wand. It used to belong to Headmaster Dumbledore...before he died, then it changed hands several times before Voldemort possessed it at his death."

Death flashes bloodstained teeth in a smile, pleased by his response. "Yes. Good. Your memories are returning to you as I hoped they would, and in sequence. You will recover more of your memories in the next few hours. I have lessened your emotional response to them to prevent further trauma to your psyche. I did not heal all that damage to your soul the first time only to have these memories undo all my hard work. You will feel a bit of course, but you will not be plagued by their mental scars. When you feel you are ready we can move on to the next gift."

Harry raises his green eyes from the three objects before him, and meets her own lifeless pool of black ones. "Why was this not done before? When the nightmares first started?"

Death smooths her dirty robe over bony legs, then neatly folds her hands in her lap. "Because my Darkling, you were not ready. I wanted you to be fully developed as a Valkyrie. I did not want to risk permanent brain damage to you because of impatience. I will not risk your possible death in this life. It would have undone everything you are trying to accomplish."

Harry nods his head reluctantly, her answer did not appease him, but he is unable to find fault in her reasoning. _Her delivery is a bit cold_ , thinks Harry. He reminds himself that this creature was not a real woman, not human and never had been. It stands to reason that this entity's reasons and responses would not follow human a mindset. Harry takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as he tries push the nervous tension away. He suspects that whatever comes next will be just as uncomfortable as the recovery of his lost memories. "What's next then?"

Before Harry quite finishes his words the Elder Wand eagerly leaps from its position on the carpet and into his empty hand. The power hums loudly in the room. Harry opens his mouth to question what just happened, when the wand suddenly bursts into a golden misty substance and rises into the air surrounding him on all sides. Eyes wide, he tracks its movements as best he can as it expands. It hovers for a few long moments, then swiftly it covers his entire body; from his toes, his fingertips to his wing feathers. Glitter dust rests on his skin in a fine powder. He looks over to meet Death's black eyes, thoroughly bewildered, only to find a similar expression on her own features. Then Harry feels his skin begin to warm, quickly escalating to a burning sensation that moves from uncomfortable to painful. Within seconds Harry starts to scream and instinctively claw at his own skin in a futile effort to remove the dust from his person.

He desperately tries to get the dust off of him, to no avail. It sinks into his muscles, and blood stream setting his veins alight with fiery pain. Harry's very bones feel as if they ignite, the sensation is pure agony. Whatever it is digs, reaches, searches within him until it finds his magical core and everything inside Harry shrinks away in unbridled horror as the Elder wand pierces even this sacred place inside of him. The wand's power touches his core and begins to twine around it, then blends it's magic into Harry's own until they are one with each other. The torment of the process is indescribable. Again Harry loses track of time and space, everything centers around his suffering.

Harry is unaware of the exact moment when the torture finally stops. His muscles spasm and twitch in shock, his chest rattles and stutters as he draws in a sharp breaths. His heart pounds frantically in his ears. Harry is lucid just long enough to see Death pick up the Resurrection Stone from the carpet then reach over to him. She takes his hand into to hers and casually pries one of his clenched fists open. Harry tries to speak and refuse the stone, but he cannot find his breath or the energy to do so. Cannot make the denial move past his gasping lips. Death places the stone in his hand and close his fingers tightly over it.

Ice floods through his veins in a jolt, to Harry it feels sharp and jagged like shattered glass. He tightens his fist around the offending object with a helpless spasm in reaction to this new wave of pain. The cold scrapes savagely run over his hyper sensitive nerve endings, and sends him spiraling him into a new type of hell. His back bows and lifts off the floor violently from where he collapsed. His wings flop in seizure like motions on his back, their movements out of his control. His wings are useless to him. His limbs grow heavy, and his heart struggles as his lungs labor to pull precious air into a body that he suspects is about to shut down. Distantly he senses the stone's power shredding through his very being, touching his core as the wand did only moments ago and when it makes contact, Harry feels everything within him grind to a stop. His sight blurs, and Harry wonders why Death would chose such an underhanded, brutal method to kill him, and why now. Harry finally tumbles into the shadows creeping up on the edges of his vision and knows no more.

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Death watches Harry's transformation closely. She picks up the invisibility cloak and holds it tensely in her hands. Death shifts her stance, poised intently, sensing as the precise moment draws near and readies herself to move swiftly. When Harry's soul teeters on the edge of her domain she darts forward, her movements nothing more than a black blur. Death lifts Harry off the floor and holds him in her arms as if he weighs but a few stone, just as his soul falls over the edge into death. She cocoons him into the cloak until it covers every inch of him like a protective layer, similar to a death shroud. This prevents Harry from entering fully into her realm. However, he has full access to its powers and potential. Death lays him gently back on the floor and settles herself next to him in utter stillness. Black eyes observe closely as she keeps vigil until Harry wakes.

Death waits for hours, unmoving. Her eyes never leave Harry's face. During this time Harry remains unchanged. His body is in a state of limbo. Morning creeps into the afternoon; and soon the sun begins to set before there is significant change to the occupants in the living room. The makeshift shroud stirs, as if a light breeze brushes across it. The shroud glimmers brightly for just a moment then fades into the body underneath, and leaves no trace behind. Death gazes fondly at the figure before her, taking in the subtle changes in her companion.

His skin is pale, with no immediately visible imperfections to the human eye, Harry has perfect porcelain smooth skin. He looks inhuman. The only contrast on his skin are black runic symbols that now adorn the inside of his arms. The runes span from his inner elbow to his inner wrist. Death instinctively knows Harry's spinal column from base of his skull to his tailbone match his marked wrist. The Hollows had fully accepted and laid claim to Harry as their owner and master, they belonged solely to him. Now they will never serve another. Harry slowly opens demonic onyx eyes that match Death's own.

Death smiles in delight. It pleases her to see that her magic has taken firm hold within him. Harry draws in a harsh breath, holds it for a second, then lets it out slowly. Death watches as the inky color fades from his eyes and returns to their normal luminous emerald green. Harry's eyes remain much the same with one spectacular addition; spider veins of mercury silver expand from the pupil like a starburst. Death waits for the the silver to fade, and is ecstatic to see that the mercury silver remains. They are simply beautiful. Death remarks silently to herself. She did not know before hand how the Hollows would change and interact with Harry to suit their powers. She is happy the changes are not overly drastic. However, his eyes will continue to draw attention.

Harry's power swells within the room, new and curious like a newborn babe. Death calls her own magic and intertwines it with Harry's, their magic hum together in recognition before it settles in his skin. When Harry sits up, Death shifts away from him, and waits for him to speak. Harry takes his time and looks over the runes on his arms. He lightly traces them with his fingertips before he carefully gets to his feet. Harry looks around him with new eyes. New power thrums through him with each breath, and with every beat of his heart. There is a dull ache in his muscles but no residual pain left over. Finally he turns his gaze to Death and frowns at her.

"You tried to kill me." He accuses softly, his stunning gaze silently inquiring as to why.

Death gathers herself to her feet, smooths out her robe as if to ignore Harry's unspoken question. "No. But you needed to be at the cusp of death, you needed to walk between both worlds so that I could capture you in the betwixt realms. With your new body you are now able to walk in both worlds, and have access to a form of its power. That is the Hollows true purpose little Godling. They are gateways to immense power. The Hollows chose you above all others to be their conduits. That makes you special, my little Godling."

Harry's brow furrows. "So I am like you then? A Death god? No longer Valkyrie?"

She reaches out to take his hand, and Harry no longer finds her form, or the touch of coldness unpleasant. "No my Darkling. You are a god, yes, and you are still a Valkyrie. They belong to you, and you to them, always. You are not a Death god, there can only be one at a time and I am far from the age of passing my powers to another. You are something else entirely. I do not know what, you must find your own powers and it's purpose, you must find your niche in this godly existence, as we all have.. But I cannot tell it to you, it is for you alone to learn."

She reaches up to caress his face in an affectionate gesture. "Long have I searched for one who can stand with me. One who is not turned away by my very nature. Each search ended in bitter disappointment. Eventually I decided to try something new. The Hollows are a part of me, they are partially made by my blood, my bones and my flesh and power. Carefully chosen objects of power that I transformed by my desire and need. Then I chose a world...your Wizarding World...in which to place them. I gave these treasures to three mortal brothers. Two of the three failed miserably, and perished. You know what happened to the third brother. My treasures were passed from one hand to another, always seeking a true companion of my heart. In the end they deemed you, Harry, worthy of my heart. You are a child of tears, loss, war and suffering. A child with loyalty, strength, kindness and courage. You are now my equal, my companion for all time. Like all babes however, you will need to learn and grow into your power. I have given you my greatest gifts, use them as you will. You are at this moment, a Neutral god, as am I. There are few restrictions to bind you my little Godling."

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Harry stares at her throughout her speech, and tries to absorb everything Death shares with him. _What did being a god even mean?_ It sounds nothing like the gods of Asgard, who are an alien culture mistaken as gods by primitive man. He turns his thought inwards, and focuses on the changes within himself. He feels the rise of his new power, it greets him eagerly and with enthusiasm as it returns to him. His magic feels almost primitive or ancient and has a mind of its own as it responds to his actions. Harry closes his eyes, sinks deep into this new feeling and tries not to question the sensation from his new powers. However, his curiosity wins out despite his best efforts to resist. Harry projects his emotions as best he can to seek out exactly what it is he is looking for. Or a least a clue as to what his niche in life will be.

The reply he gets back is immediate, if crude; dark shadows like the night sky, harsh wind blows through trees, a cascade of feathers- the sensation of flight, a bloody wound closing neatly. Harry is confused by the barrage of images that make no sense, and feeling overwhelmed he pulls back. The images slow down, become a little clearer and Harry realizes that these images have meaning even if he doesn't understand them at the moment. He memorizes them for later consideration and brings himself back to the present. Slowly Harry opens his eyes and takes in his surroundings.

Death is still watching him, she holds a old fashioned hand mirror fashioned of glass and bone. Death sees that she has his attention and holds the mirror up for him to take a look at himself. Harry's eyes widen in surprise at his new features. He is caught off guard by the inhuman change of his eyes, and it renders him breathless. They were still the intense Avada Kedavra green that he remembers are from Lily Potter. However, they now have silver lightning bursts in his irises. Harry is fascinated with how stunning and ethereal they look, how blatantly inhuman. He will need to glamour his eyes or wear green contacts to hide the silver in his eyes. Pretty as they are, they are too noticeable. He blinks, and breaks the trance, startled by Death's soft chuckles he lowers the mirror.

"Apparently you can hypnotize with your gaze, like a snake. Interesting." She muses aloud. "Has Parseltongue returned as well?" She brings a hand up again, the mirror has changed into a little snake figurine resting in the center of her palm. Harry shrugs and focuses his eyes on the little statue, simply stating that it is silver. Parseltongue flows easily from his lips and Harry is uncertain as to how he feels about regaining this ability.

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With the hours remaining before Harry leaves to attend dinner at his parents home, they further explore the visual changes to his body and parts of his new magic. Harry discovers he can cast spells wandlessly with ease, his apparition has changed completely to a form of shadow walking instead, which delighted Death but confuses Harry. Harry discovers that his animagus form is no longer limited to the gorgeous barn owl in his previous life; to his astonishment he has access to all forms of birds, both night and day. Harry finds to his amazement that he can take on an incorporeal form as a shadow, he flits around the room lighter than air. He is able to camouflage himself in his shadows and observe others and not be seen. He learns, by accident while using his shadow, that it is not vital for him to breathe. Which is pointed out to him by Death as she observes him at play. Harry understands his new talent will prove to be useful, and tries not to let the ability unsettle him. Death explains to him that it is likely the result of Harry existing between both worlds, the living and the dead. Harry decides to move on and resolves not to think overmuch on it. He plunges the room into pitch black darkness then lights it back up with ease. Harry feels like a toddler flicking the light switch on and off. When Harry is finally exhausted and stops toying with his new powers, he flops down into a chair with a pleased sigh.

Harry looks at the clock on his mantle and realizes he has two hours before he needs to leave for dinner. He grins at his companion, feeling overjoyed, and laughs happily, delighted overall with all the changes thus far. Death smiles at him indulgently when he finishes playing, walks over to sit down beside him on another chair. "I must leave you for now, my Darkling."

Harry shifts around in the chair, turning to face her. "Before you leave, there is something I must tell you. I am going off world for a while. Four years to be exact. The Valkyrie need me to bring the rest of them to Earth, but I must go to meet them and lead them to their new home. I will be leaving sometime in the next few months."

Death smiles softly at him "I am aware of your journey, I try to keep a close eye on your life from where ever I am. No worries my little Darkling, I will keep watch on those precious to you while you are gone. Do what you must for your Valkyrie."

Overwhelmingly grateful Harry reaches out to grasp her hand in his own firmly. "How can I possibly thank you for everything you have done for me these years? For letting me take a mortal body again when you could have easily denied me? For looking after me as if I were your own?"

She shakes her head at him, clucking her tongue softly in rebuke. "What sort of a companion would I be to deny you such a simple thing? Life is precious, but fleeting. You are a part of me, you will always return to me in your own time. You are very young yet, I do not expect anything from you other than your companionship for a while between lives. "

Harry stands from his chair, closing the short distance between them and planting a light kiss on her forehead, causing her to blink black eyes in mild surprise. "Never the less. Thank you, for everything. You are more than welcome to visit more often than every few years you know." He teases her softly, smiling. Her rattling, scraping laughter rings through the room again as she fades away from sight in his arms, saying nothing in reply. Leaving Harry to continue the rest of his night.


	9. Many Splintering Paths

_A/N: Warning for language, some angst_

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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To Harry's intense relief, the celebratory birthday dinner his mother put together did not turn out to be another of her many covert attempts to throw another eligible female in his direction. Before leaving his own London home, Harry carefully glamours himself to hide his newly acquired features. Despite his age, he rather enjoys the quiet nights spent with his parents, playing cheesy board games and drinking too much wine. The evening passes happily and quietly with Harry deciding to stay the night in his old bedroom after he opens a few gifts from family members. He receives a beautiful old fashioned estate from both of his parents. It was spacious building with a few hundred acres and sits in a charming part of the English countryside. Harry happily looks through the pictures of the old fashioned estate with growing excitement; it needed to be refurbished and brought up to date, but it is a project he will definitely enjoy. Harry likes to work with his hands in his free time and refurbishing the estate will be a fun long term project for him to play with.

Later that night when Harry finally lays down to rest, he makes sure to check for any missed calls, then sets his alarm to wake him in the morning. Harry fully intends to go to work in the morning, regardless of how sore his body is. He just needed to rearrange his schedule and work in his main office and not in his lab. As much as he hates paperwork, doing it is a necessary evil and he was positive there was a mountain of it just waiting to be done. It would easily occupy him for the entire day. Harry closes his green eyes with a happy sigh and drifts off into a deep dreamless sleep that he has not had in years. Now with his memories sorted out, they no longer vie constantly for his attention. Harry is now able to accomplish his goals without fighting ghosts and unpredictable flashbacks. Before Morpheus pulls him under, Harry wonders what Tony is doing right now. He wonders if Tony would have been a part of his birthday celebration as his friend or his lover? A smile cross his lips in hopes that they can eventually repair the damage in their friendship. Even if he knows the fantasy is highly unlikely, part of Harry still holds the idea close to his heart. Only revealed in soft vulnerable moments like this.

Morning came too quickly for Harry, and despite the long hours of a restful sleep, he still aches from the day before. Reluctantly he peels off the bed covers and forces himself to crawl into the bathroom. Resolutely ignoring the unpleasant complaints of his body. Sleepily rubbing his eyes, he turns and looks at himself in the mirror. Pink lips quirk up in am amused tilt as he examines his reflection; he just vaguely resembles a human being instead of a zombie. Moving away from the counter, he turns on the shower and waits for the water to reach the perfect temperature before getting in. Once he is clean Harry dries off and transfigures his clothes from yesterday into something appropriate for the office. Then he heads downstairs to grab a light breakfast with whoever is up before getting in his town car. Unlike Tony, Harry is fully capable, and actually prefers to drive himself around most days. Harry frowns at his thoughts and tries to push the image of Tony away. That is the second time in less than twenty four hours the brunette turns up in his mind. Harry firmly turns his attention to the road as he merges with traffic and distracts himself from any thoughts of Anthony Stark and the incident altogether.

After battling the endless London traffic and busy pedestrians, Harry arrives at the main office for Gemini BioTech in the London branch. He strides confidently through the large glass front doors, only to be immediately sidelined by a petite blonde haired Valkyrie named Gregori before Harry could escape to the main elevator going down to the Lab levels. Despite trying to constantly dodge the other Valkyrie and his endless stream of messages and paperwork, Harry was rather fond of the new front desk clerk. He lets himself be drawn into a business conversation and quickly loses track of his surroundings for a while. Once he manages to free himself from Gregori's clutches, Harry makes his way to his office and begins to carefully pick through the mountain of memos, missed calls and meeting arrangements from yesterday and last night. Apparently taking a single day off is simply out of the question. Good thing he is the CEO and can tell everyone to bugger off every now and again, not that Harry does without a very good reason.

After working a short while in his office, Harry walks back out to speak with Gregori on a certain file. They sink so deep into their conversation, that they both miss the human as he walks through the front door right past security, and into the lush front lobby where they are conversing. Frowning down at the messy folder in his hand as Harry debates scheduling with Gregori, Harry misses the out of place person as well. Gregori's sharp inhalation of surprise is what alerts Harry that something is wrong. Harry snaps his head up instantly, his silver-green eyes meeting Clint Barton's ocean blues and the human doesn't quite suppress a startled flinch. Clint's blue eyes widen as they take in Harry's strangely mixed own. Mentally cursing Harry quickly turns his face away from the human, under the pretense of returning to the paperwork in his hands, hiding his unnatural gaze.

Quickly Gregori darts in between them, placing his body as a barrier between the two as his chipper voice grabs the human's attention from Harry and politely asks if he could help the man. While Gregori distracts the human Harry slips on a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and tries to slink casually away. Apparently the Human Resource Department called the man for a job interview from what Harry can hear between he and Gregori as he walks away. As he leaves Harry tries to recall any positions currently open to humans in this particular building, he simply cannot remember all the current open positions. As the CEO Harry juggles a lot of responsibilities, yet he likes to keep abreast of everything that happens in his company as much as he possibly can. Harry shrugs off the strangeness of the encounter and gets on the elevator, he pushes the needed button for the floor of his personal lab to drop some things off, and decides to let Gregori handle it. It is one of the reasons the young Valkyrie was hired to work the front desk after all, that and his ability to politely talk anyone's ear off.

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Later that night Barton hands in the sadly thin report of his attempts to infiltrate any of the London offices of Gemini BioTech to his handler, a man known only as Agent Coulson. Coulson frowns at the thinness of the folder in his hands and glances back up at Barton, arching a brow on his normally impassive face. "This is everything Barton? After a week?"

 _Mission very pathetically unsuccessful._ Barton scowls at the other man. "Did you guys really expect much better? Getting in there to even speak to anyone is a nightmare. At least I got into the lobby and sat for the interview, has anyone else managed that? Also, I saw Sinclair, and I think we're in more trouble than we realized."

Coulson blinks, and flips the file open to skim through its contents in silence. Grumbling to himself under his breath while he waits, Barton wonders why they even sent him in the first place, this type of undercover field work is not his area of expertise. _Though maybe that is the point._ His mind whispered. _Gemini has already turned away their very best undercover agents without fail. Gemini is obviously able to spot a pro a mile away. Who knows how? Perhaps that is why SHIELD sent him in. An Agent too clumsy to normally be chosen for undercover work. It was an unorthodox idea. If he had not mistakenly stumbled upon Harold Sinclair himself and spooked the man off, it would have worked. The front desk clerk, what was his name? Gregori, had seemed flustered and more interested in getting the interview over and Barton out the door than anything else._ While Sinclair had gracefully slipped away Gregori had ushered Clint out the door as quickly and politely as possible. Making various noises about how he will personally look over Barton's resume to see if he is a viable candidate for the position applied for. Unlikely as it was, if Barton did get a call back, it was further opportunity for observation.

The only useful information Barton got from the week long ordeal is that Harold Sinclair is a mutant in hiding. Clint's only proof is the man's quick exit and covering of his eyes with sunglasses. It isn't much to go on, but those eyes weren't something to be ignored in his professional opinion. Even if he was not sure what they meant at this point in time. Clint considers how dangerous SHIELD thinks the man and his company is already, his mutant hypothesis is not going to be welcomed news. Even worse, aside from the strangeness of the young man's eyes, Barton has no inkling of what his mutant abilities are. The young man gave no indications of anything, Clint did not get a chance to speak with the man. Sinclair simply exited the scene quickly as he was able to while trying to look as if he was not fleeing. Thinking about the entire thing gives Clint a terrible migraine. He did not want to imagine the political ramifications of the whole mess. However, Clint can not help the smile that briefly touches his lips as the sound of Director Fury's screams of frustration echo in his head. Dealing with the entire situation with the ever elusive Harold Sinclair was not something Clint envied. The mutant wound Fury up like no one else Barton has ever met before, and the Brit isn't even trying. Clint is pretty sure that Sinclair did not even know Fury existed. He would have found the fact hilarious, if the whole thing didn't give Clint a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. But orders are orders and as of now, he is assigned to watch Sinclair from a distance and not engage.

Coulson makes a soft displeased noise low in his throat and snaps the folder shut, which brings Clint back to the present. "Not a complete waste of time then, good. Fury will want this new information as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for anything strange in his routine and take notes for now. We don't expect much from this, we've had surveillance on him for a long while now. But until we have something else for you, this is it. I'll get back to you after I speak with the Director. It shouldn't be long." Clint nods his head in recognition of his order. Coulson turns on his heel and leaves their meeting place and heads back to base.

Inwardly Coulson snickers as he leaves, and wonders how Nick Fury is going to take this newest tidbit of information. _Not well,_ Coulson confidently assumes. Behind him Clint vanishes into the trees like a ghost, a rather impressive skill considering Coulson's own keen skills of observation. However, Coulson didn't let on that anything bothers him. Clint is completely harmless to him, and Coulson has no immediate worries. He unlocks his door and gets into his unremarkable little car, driving away into the darkness. Idly he considers whether or not Fury would be interested in some proper British tea instead of his usual coffee.

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A couple months later Harry is busy at work. He is almost finished with his preparations and arrangements for leaving the planet for his four year journey. Harry leaves his business in the capable hands of his board members, who he knows by name. Harry had hand selected each and every Valkyrie himself, and he fully trusts when he returns his company will still be standing. Everything needs to be set up just right, and it took time, money and apparently a lot of lawyers. With the legal business aspect finally out of the way, the necessary medical paperwork expertly and meticulously forged, Harry puts his Valkyrie doctors on standby notice. It would not be long before the magical golem is ready to take his place.

Creating the golem became a long, precise and tedious task. First, Harry needed a corpse, which was not as easy to get a hold of as one might assume. The human corpse has to be very carefully selected for his height, weight, skin and hair coloring. Harry did not feel it necessary to kill an innocent, and so he had to wait for the right one to come along naturally. Luckily, with London's population being as large as it is, he did not have to wait an overly long time to acquire what he needed. A simple spell to fix the eyes to match his pre-transformation green will work perfectly. Harry has never met anyone else with his particular shade of green. Once the appropriate body is found Harry will quietly take it into his possession, then use heavy and strong spells the to keep the body intact until he returns.

Harry carefully thinks about the process that he will need to go through. Each step will need many and varied spells, which must be carefully layered and interwoven with one another like a complicated tapestry. Then allowed to rest and settle before moving on to the next step of the golem's creation. Nothing can be rushed, or the spells will collapse upon themselves or possibly backlash. Once Harry gets the body the first thing he will do is use his own blood and a few runes to begin the processes. Harry appreciates the fact that he now has his memory and his magic back, both will be immensely helpful in his plans. Access to the magic he has now will make the tasks so much easier, using runes on the the corpse will force the heart to beat once again. Supplying his own blood to change the genetic structure of the corpse will make the body his perfect twin. The corpse will appear to function as if it is really alive, thanks to the runes and a heart pumping the human's own revitalized blood through the body's systems and forcing it to breathe on its own. The corpse will need to not only fool doctors, but also his family members. This is a complex undertaking, Harry reasons that it will take many long unforgiving and sleepless days and nights to accomplish his goal correctly and smoothly. Once the golem appears to function naturally on its own, Harry will take time to rest and recover. The sheer magical output and level of total concentration he needs to create a golem this complex will be intense and will drain him both magically and physically.

Harry takes a few minutes to think about the pain he will create for his loving parents. Regret plagues his heart, which makes Harry take a step back from his planning. Yet, as much as it hurts, Harry has to do this, it is unavoidable. His people must come home, and he needs to be the one to guide them here. Harry reassures himself that this is the only way, and that his parents pain will not last forever. Their son will wake up and return to them in about four years time. With a heavy heart Harry proceeds with his plans.

It takes Harry weeks to complete his plans of turning the corpse into his golem twin. He passes the completed golem to Kiran and Meloth for the staging of his 'accident' in a few days from now. Harry packs a bag with clothes and slips out of his home in the middle of the night. He drives deep into the English countryside catches a prearranged flight on a small two seater plane privately owned by another Valkyrie. The plane takes him on a four hour flight to Romania, where he checks into a backwoods off the beaten path, quaint little Bed & Breakfast near the Carpathian mountains and waits. Kiran and Meloth will join him when they have completed their own tasks in England and it is safe for them to meet him here for the next step of their long journey. Until then, Harry carefully glamours himself as someone else and enjoys himself playing tourist with the locals.

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The next day starts a series of bad events for poor Jasper and Alice Sinclair. Early in the morning a gruff nurse from the London Hospital calls to notify them that their only son was rushed to the hospital after a break in at Harry's home in the early morning hours. Horrified, the couple leaps out of bed and dress in a hurry. They drive madly to the emergency room to see their boy. Upon arrival they are told by the nurse at the counter that the Doctor is wanting to speak with them in a private room. Alice bursts into frightened tears on her husband's shoulder, terrified of being told her precious child was killed during the break in. Jasper murmurs softly to try and calm his distraught wife, as the nurse guides them into a conference room. The nurse then tells them to wait while she goes and gets the doctor.

The couple waits for nearly an hour before a doctor in a typical white coat, with Blake on his name tag, joins them. By now, Alice managed to calm her tears and dry her eyes, though they are still obviously puffy and red rimmed from her distress. The older gentleman who joins them looks tired and harried, but gives them a gentle smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair?" Dr. Blake holds out his hand to Jasper for a handshake. "I am Benjamin Blake, your son's Doctor. I'm pleased to tell you first - that your son is alive. So you can calm your fears, most of his injuries are minor and will heal given a little time."

Alice and Jasper let out sighs of relief, clasping each other's hands tightly. "I wish we could say it's a pleasure to meet you Doctor, but it really isn't. When can we see him?"

The Doctor sits down at the table across from them, opening the file with Harry's information in it, the smile having shifted to a comforting expression instead. "That's alright Mr. Sinclair, I get that reaction a lot. As for seeing your son, I'm afraid you can't. Not right this moment, we're still running some tests and there is something I need to speak with you two about. Though most of Harry's injuries are minor, your son suffered severe head trauma."

Alice gasps, clutching onto Jasper. "Oh God! What did that monster do to him!" Jasper lightly pats her hand as he tries to soothe her, but his expression is grim. "Let the man finish Alice...I'm sure he's going to tell us what he can."

Doctor Blake nods his head solemnly at Jasper's statement. "My understanding, Mrs. Sinclair, from speaking with the officers that came in with Harry, is that he took a bad tumble down a flight of stairs in the struggle with his intruder. This appears to have been the cause of the head trauma. I'm very sorry to tell you that on the way to the Hospital your son slipped into a coma. Harry will not be waking up right away until his brain has time to heal. We have no reason at this point to think it will last very long, your son is in good health. The testing we are doing now is in relation to this development."

Jasper inhales sharply at the news and Alice wipes away a few more tears from her cheeks, biting her lip hard to keep from sobbing. Jasper speaks up. "A coma? What happened? What's causing it? How long will he be like this?"

The Doctor slides a few pieces of paper from the file over towards the upset couple. "These are scans of your son's brain." Jasper leans over to look at the scans, while Blake points to various spots on the photograph with a pen from his pocket. "As you can see, here and over here, are two severe bleeds in his cranium. We've had to open the skull to let the blood and fluids drain. This also relieves pressure from the swelling, giving the brain room. We think, that once the swelling goes back down, and if the bleeds heal properly on their own, that your son should wake up not long after that. At this point your son's chances are still very good, he's responding well to everything we've done so far."

Alice stares at the pictures on the table, pale and trembling. "You cut his hair." She turns to her husband as the Doctor and Jasper look up from the scans. "Jasper they cut off all his gorgeous hair. Harry's going to be so upset." She continues in a daze, fixating on this little detail in the face of the rest of the overwhelming information offered by Doctor Blake.

"I think, my darling…" Mr. Sinclair says gently. "...that Harry will more likely be concerned about being awake than the state of his hair. "

Alice blinks a couple of times rapidly. "You're right, of course...I'm sorry. This is just… it's all…" she trails off unable to finish. Jasper reaches over to wrap his arms around his wife, holding her closer. "I know Alice. I know. But Doctor Blake says Harry is doing well considering his injuries, you have to focus on that. We have to be patient. Harry will wake up when he is ready to. Hold on to that. Don't think about the rest, I'll handle it. You concentrate on Harry, okay?"

Alice nods her head, turning her face into his shoulder to stifle a sob before forcing herself to straighten up. Wiping at her eyes roughly, she raises her chin in a defiant gesture. "You're right. Harry's always been healthy and strong, he'll wake up soon. We just have to wait, right Doctor?" She turns to meet Blake's eyes. Blake nods in confirmation. "Yes Ma'am. We do more tests, monitor him, and wait. Harry will heal in his own time."

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Three days later Harry meets with Kiran or Meloth in the Romanian countryside. They show up together in the morning bearing camping packs and spend a few hours with Harry at the Bed & Breakfast before they pack up his things and check out. Their destination and plan is to head up into the Carpathian Mountains on foot. They spend the entire day hiking deep into the wilderness, leaving the hiking trails late into the afternoon and moving deep into the old growth forest. During this time they inform Harry on the state of his company and his parents. Everything to this point has gone smoothly as planned. Harry, not used to this kind of travel, swears that he finds every root and rock that could be tripped over. He stumbles through most of the journey like a wobbly colt on untried legs.

The brothers say nothing about his difficulties. They pick him up if he trips, dust him off and keep on with their journey. More than once Harry's face burns red with embarrassment at his clumsiness. Harry is pathetically grateful to them for ignoring his less than graceful attempts to keep up. They keep conversation soft and light as they move, constantly on alert as they scan their surroundings for anything unexpected. Sunset comes quickly, and they find a spot to camp for the night. With a combination of basic camping equipment and Harry's magic, they settle in for a fairly comfortable night. At the start of sunrise the next morning they set out on their journey again. They spend the entire second day moving deeper into the wild mountains, the only stops they make are for water and lunch. They speak very little, their focus is on the increasingly hard terrain, saving their breath. By the time they camp for the second night, Harry is rather fed up of seeing nothing but rocks and trees. He is covered in bruises, scrapes and twigs. They all had a few itchy bug bites and made no bones grumbling about them. Harry tries keeps his complaints to himself for the most part, since neither of the other two older Valkyrie fuss much beyond occasionally teasing each other in fun, as siblings often do. Sleep that night is dreamless, but Harry wakes feeling like he hasn't really gotten any sleep at all. Despite his tired body, he is nearly vibrating in excitement as he prepares a simple pre-packaged breakfast over the fire. They eat quickly and pack up their camp for the final time. There would only be little more walking today, and Harry cannot stop bouncing on the balls of his feet, impatient for them to start moving. Once they reach a flat outcropping of rock they are going to fly the rest of the way up the mountain. If the weather permits, this will cut days off of their journey.

They reach a large flat rock overlooking a sheer dropping cliff side later that morning. At the final stop to rest they hide their packs in the foliage. They eat the last of the trail mix before continuing on. The three Valkyrie carefully make sure that they are well out of the range of human hikers who can see them. Harry exchanges grins with his traveling companions as they drop the glamours on their wings, it isn't often they can fly freely like this. With an excited whoop Harry takes a running leap off of the face of the rock, plunging down into the open air of the cliff side a few moments before opening up his large black wings to catch the updraft. Distantly he can hear Kiran and Meloth following his example with playful yells of their own. Grinning fiercely in joy, Harry swoops, dives, flips, and barrel rolls through the sky, feeling free like never before. The brothers keep up pace with him though they are less acrobatic in their own flight pattern, instead chasing each other around the sky as if they are children. Eventually Kiran pulls ahead to lead them in the correct direction and Harry settles into the long flight ahead.

Kiran takes them down to the ground as the sun sets and as visibility begins to become poor for the brothers. Perplexed but trusting Kiran knows where they are going, Harry follows landing with a soft thump. He neatly folds his wings behind him as Meloth lands a few seconds behind him. Before him is a clump of old overgrown trees clinging determinedly to the sloping rock side; for the first time Harry begins to wonder where the brothers are leading him. He has little idea where they are going other than to the hidden spaceship. It is obviously hidden somewhere in these wild mountains, but they did not give Harry a lot of information to where they are going beyond this. Harry shrugs to himself, _maybe I should have asked more questions_. Both of his friends had smiled at him, basically saying it would be better if Harry simply saw it for himself rather than them trying to explain it to him.

Kiran leads them to the left, deeper into the trees to a mountain stream fed waterfall. It is not huge, but it is large enough to stand under, and clean enough to drink from and cool down from their flight. When they were all clean and refreshed Kiran takes them back passed the waterfall, slipping into an alcove Harry did not notice before. Harry and Meloth follow Kiran through the tunnel until he stops in front of a steel door embedded into the stone. Kiran tosses a grin over his shoulder at the young Prince, then says. "We're here my Lord."

Kiran raises a fist and brings it down harshly on the door three times, the sound echoing dully off the rocks around them. After a few moments a soft whirring noise to one side of them catches Harry's attention. Harry looks around and spots several discreet cameras hidden among the rocks and foliage around them, turning to face the group. He snaps his gaze back to Kiran and Meloth when the steel door clangs and creaks as it opens, revealing a wide metal hallway with electric lights flickering on one after the other down a long corridor. In silence the three men make their way down the hallway, Harry glances back and watches the door close by itself with a soft swoosh.

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The corridor travels down deep into the mountain at a noticeable angle, occasionally they pass a door on the left or the right. Each door is marked with a series of sigils Harry recognized as Valkyrie markings. All the doors appear to be closed and Harry assumes, locked. After some time of twists and turns down various hallways Harry summarizes that he is completely lost in this huge underground complex. Kiran suddenly stops and opens one of the doors on his right. When they enter the room, Harry sees four heavy armored and armed Valkyrie guarding an elevator.

To Harry's surprise, they all drop to their knee in a kneeling position, right arm crossed over their chest, fist resting on their hearts. They do not speak, nor raise their eyes. "My Lord!" They all greet, their heads and wings bowed in submission. At first Harry is taken aback and is not sure what to make of it. Meloth nudges him subtly and his years of training kicks in. Immediately he turns his eyes away, and focuses on the elevator doors. He is not supposed to acknowledge them beyond a glance to be aware of their presence, he is not supposed to speak and interrupt their duties unless he has reason to. They would return to their posts as soon as he enters the elevator. Out of the corner of his eye Harry catches Kiran suppressing a smirk as they wait for the elevator and pushes down the impulse to kick the man. Kiran knows very well how much Harry hates the pompous court etiquette he learned during his lessons. The older Valkyrie insisted that knowing court etiquette is vital to know so that he can avoid offending some of the more traditional Valkyrie. _There is still no reason to be smug,_ thinks Harry. "Laugh it up Kiran." He mutters out of the corner of his mouth sarcastically.

A soft ding indicates the elevator has reached their floor and they pile in. Kiran hits a series of buttons with the same sigil writing as on the doors, afterwards they make their way downwards. When the elevator opens to a new corridor Harry begins to sense a theme with the basic layout of the complex. As they pass Valkyrie going about their business, Harry notices they are all in similar dress as the guards upstairs. Thankfully, aside from a brief respectful bow of their heads, they did not bother the three as they continue on their way. They took two more elevators down before reaching the hallway Kiran is looking for. The older Valkyrie opens the door on the right side of the corridor that Harry estimates is halfway down, and motions them into the room. The room is heavily warded with Valkyrie magic, so heavily that Harry can feel the magic pressing down on him like a phantom weight.

Beyond the door is a glass and metal observation deck with an office desk and chairs, overlooking what appeared to be a large cavern below it. The room also contains seven Valkyrie that appear to be waiting for them, dressed much differently from the armed guards they saw moving around the hallways. "My Lord. Kiran, Meloth, it is good to see you again." They greet them in turn respectfully bowing their heads for a brief moment. Kiran inclines his head politely in return and immediately goes over to speak to them in a low voice. He checks that everything is set up for them. Harry trusts that Kiran and Meloth know what they are doing and walks over to one of the glass panels, looking down into the room curiously.

Squinting his eyes Harry notices that the walls are heavily covered in carved runes and there is a large rune circle carved into the floor in the center. In this circle is a strange blue tinted metal arch also with carved runes, the cavern is otherwise empty. Kiran grabs Harry's attention when he is finished speaking with the others, and opens another door to a short curving hallway leading down into the open cavern. They walk down into the cavern with the seven other Valkyrie following, Harry immediately goes over to the runes on the floor. Curiously looking them over as he confirms his theory about the carvings being magical runes. The seven Valkyrie fan out around the circle into even distances from one another, each standing directly on one rune.

Meloth's voice breaks Harry from his examination. " My Lord, the magi are ready to begin if you will step back please?" Harry nods, backing up far away from the circle as the seven magi begin a soft chant in unison. As Harry watches, the runes along the walls slowly begin to light up one by one, glowing with the same blue tint as the metal arch. Kiran leans over to murmur quietly in Harry's ear to not disturb the magi at work. "When all the runes on the walls are lit you will have to step into the circle and use your blood to mark the sides of the gate to wake it up."

Harry blinks, turns to look at Kiran. "My blood? Why?"

Kiran smiles a little bit at him in amusement. "The Queen had it locked with a spell, so only you can open the gate. It was a layer of protection for the people off planet if for some reason we were not successful here."

Harry sighs, turns his gaze to watch the magi, and wonders why everything lately seemed to require his opening a vein. For several long minutes no one speaks or moves until all the runes on the wall are lit up. Meloth hands Harry a small silver dagger as he steps forward into the circle, swiftly slicing open the meaty part of his palm. He reaches up and wipes his bloody hand down the metal on each side of the arch. Harry tilts his head as he watches his blood being absorbed by the runes on the metal and disappearing.

The arch begins to hum, first softly, then it increases in volume until a sharp crack like thunder rolls through the room. The loud noise startles Harry nearly out of his skin. Thunder cracks again and the circle runes on the floor burst into roaring black fire, it is so forceful it knocks the magi violently off their feet and throws them back. The break in the circle did not change what is suppose to happen, it seems magic has already set things into motion and is not going to stop now. The fire quickly settles down to embers, but the gate crackles and pops, crawling with what looked like black lightning. It suddenly goes silent, then booms, rocking the room as the empty space in the arch opens up to a glowing void, shimmering and shifting like a soap bubble.

Harry turns to look over his shoulder at Kiran and Meloth, he wonders what he is suppose to do next. Harry finds their faces a mixture of awe and concern, staring not at the gate, but at him. He glances at the other seven Valkyrie, and finds that they are also staring at him with similar expressions. "What?" Harry asks, a bit irritated.

Hesitantly, Kiran steps forward to gather his attention. "Your eyes my Lord. They have changed. They are black now."

"They are?" Harry's brows frown in question.

Kiran nods. "Yes my Lord...the same color as the magic controlling the gate."

Harry did not know how to respond to the statement, as he suspected it had something to do with his gifts from Death. He turns back to the gate before speaking, blatantly ignoring their questioning gazes. "Now what do I do Kiran?"

Kiran steps up to the edge of the circle. "Now, these seven will maintain the gate. You will hold out your hand so that myself and Meloth can cross the runes safely, and we walk through. This gate will take us to the ship. From there we will begin our two year journey to the edge of this solar system. We will be in cryo chambers and sleep through most of the flight, waking again a few days before we meet the larger ship behind Pluto."

Harry nods his head, and reaches out to offer his newly healed hand to Kiran to let him cross the runes, then he does the same to Meloth. Glancing briefly to the brothers at his side, Harry takes a deep breath, and steps through the gate without hesitation.

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Months pass quietly in England with no change in golem Harry's condition for better or worse. After Alice Sinclair's many pleas the doctors and the hospital permit them to take Harry home and care for him now that he is as stable as they can make him. Harry continues to linger in a coma like state, and Alice continues to hope against the odds that her child will wake soon, unable to admit any other outcome was possible. Once everything settles, Alice hires the best home care nurses she can find. Unknowingly, she lets SHIELD operatives into her home. For the first time they get direct access to Harold Sinclair. When the watchful and hovering Alice was not near, they took full advantage of the opportunity to collect many genetic samples from the golem. Never knowing the samples will be completely useless later.

Alice's next order of business once she is certain that her child is safely within her reach, is to call Harry's American friend James Rhodes to inform him of the tragic situation. It took her a few attempts to get a hold of the man, but when she did they spoke well into the night, going over everything she knows about Harry's condition. By the end of the phone call Alice wipes tears from her eyes, but feels a little bit better sharing her pain with someone else who also cares deeply for Harry's well being. After hanging up the phone she goes to check on Harry before going to bed for the night with her husband.

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Meanwhile, across the ocean, one Tony Stark gets an unpleasant phone call from one very irate James Rhodes. The shrill screech of a ringing cell phone screams in the dark bedroom, waking a blurry eyed Tony who just laid down not two hours before after a forty eight hour binge in the lab. Tony's hand scrabbles across the nightstand before he snatches up the phone and glares at the glowing screen. When he sees the name he groans, hits the answer button and brings it to his ear. He mutters grumpily in a voice rough from sleep. "Rhodey I just went to sleep man...what's up?"

James's voice slices sharp and angry through his sleepy brain fog. "Get your ass out of bed, get dressed and get on a plane for London. Before you run out of time."

Tony blinks in confusion before he dully answers, "Huh?"

He jumps slightly when Rhodey raises his voice, truly angry like Tony has rarely heard before. "Move your motherfucking ass Stark! Harry doesn't have time for you to drag your feet on this!"

Tony cuts Rhodey off before he can continue. Hurt and anger swelling up within him at his ex-lover's name and takes over his mouth. "The hell I'm going to England for anything that involves Sinclair. You damn well know that! You woke me up for that shit?"

Rhodey abruptly interrupts the other man before Tony can really start on a rant. "Anthony, seriously. Harry's in a coma. Has been for months."

The harsh words dry up in Tony's mouth as his breath seems to freeze solid in his lungs. He stares off into the darkness of his room, silent with his mind blank, unable to comprehend the information.

"Tony…? Tony? Stark!"

The brunette jumps, blinking rapidly as he came out of his funk. "Y-yea, I'm here. I'm going…" He throws back the covers and stumbles to his feet, goes over to the closet and yanks out some clothes. "I'm getting dressed, I'll call you when I land in London."

Tony hangs up the phone after a quick goodbye. He calls out to his AI. "Jarvis! Flight to London, ASAP. I'll be gone for a few days at least."

"Yes sir. I will make the arrangements, shall I inform Mr. Stane of your absence? " The AI inquires.

"Yes, tell him it was really important." Tony answers absently, while he tosses some extra clothes into a bag and shoves his feet into his shoes. In less than twelve hours Tony Stark's private plane lands on the Heathrow London runway.


	10. Movements of the Heart

_**A/N:** Warnings for language, lots of angst and feels! Heavy chapter, also goofiness._

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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When Harry stumbles with his usual lack of grace through the arched black gate. He is not sure what he expects to find on the other side, but he trusts Kiran and Meloth to keep his safety in two brothers have yet to steer him wrong when it comes to something vitally important to their people, or Harry personally. Especially after Harry's epic tantrum concerning the incident of the elder Stark's murder so many years ago. Harry barely manages to keep his feet under him to prevent falling flat on his face. He shakes his head a bit to try and dislodge the uncomfortable tingling sensation of immense magical power as it washes over his skin and tickles his ears. When the blurriness in his vision finally clears Harry realizes that he is standing in the middle of an empty chrome and cold sterile metal room, there are no windows or furniture of any kind.

Harry's initial thoughts on the atmosphere in the space is that it was decidedly unwelcoming and jarring after coming from a warmly lit, in comparison, stone cavern. The light in the room is a dim glow, the only source of light the strange onyx glow from the portal and runes covering nearly everything within his sight. He drops his green gaze down to his feet, Harry takes note of the ring of runes on the floor surrounding him and the gate, an exact copy of the ones on the stone cavern floor he left behind just moments ago. The only difference was that there are no magi on this side of the gate. Glancing around at the walls he easily makes out more of the same runes, despite the strange darkness surrounding him. Harry steps to the side away from the softly glowing black arch so that he does not block his two friends stepping through after him. Harry turns to examine the portal behind him, finding it to be an exact perfect replica to the one in the mountains he just left.

Silently taking all of this in while he waits, Harry's sensitive ears twitch, picking up a soft hum from the portal right before Kiran steps through and joins him. It is disturbingly bizarre, watching the way the other Valkyrie's form warps and twists in horrifying ways before solidifying into someone recognizable. The sight causes his stomach to lurch and clench tightly with tension at what he sees before him. Harry worries and wonders if the same thing happened to him when came through the portal. Harry blinks wide green eyes rapidly in slight alarm, he forces himself to remain calm when he realizes that Kiran did not flinch or notice the distortion when he came through the portal. The older Valkyrie neatly steps to one side just like Harry did a few moments ago, leaving plenty of room for the younger Meloth to arrive through the gate.

Kiran turns warm brown eyes to inspect Harry calmly after he briefly flicks his gaze around the room, his deep voice is unnaturally loud in the hushed stillness of the chamber. "You have to lead us out of the circle of runes the same way to lead us into the other circle my Lord."

Harry nods, immediately offering his right hand to Kiran and stepping over the line of runes with the other Valkyrie. Meloth steps through the portal just a heartbeat after, going through the same unsettling distortion affair as his older sibling. Harry repeats the process and leads Meloth out of the rune circle as well. Once everyone steps out of the magical ring Kiran turns his attention to a length of wall on one side of the room. Reaching out his hand, Kiran lightly runs the pads of his fingertips over a sigil that had been hidden among the carved runes. A small section of wall slides to the left with a soft whir of motion, revealing a back-lit touch pad with numbers and sigils. Harry leans over the russet winged Valkyrie's shoulder to examine his actions curiously as Kiran's fingers fly confidently over the symbols, typing in some kind of long complicated code sequence that Harry quickly loses track of. The younger dark haired boy nearly jumps out of his skin. Harry's onyx feathers bristling in startlement like a defensive bird when spooked, when a door suddenly whooshes open loudly across the room from the portal. Meloth smothers a snort behind his hand, adopting a faux innocent expression when the other boy tilts his head to eye him sideways. Meloth simply arches an eyebrow in question, causing Harry to glare petulantly over his fluffed right wing at him, glossy black feathers slowly starting to lay flat once more.

Kiran sighs and rolls his eyes at their childish behavior, not bothering to hide the gesture from the two. "If we can continue my Lord?" Inquires Kiran, voice syrupy sweet with politeness. Harry gives him a dirty look in return before turning his attention back to Meloth. Kiran ignores Harry's look and continues in a firmer, respectable tone. "There is much to show you, and we must wake the shuttle before we can begin our journey."

Harry's head whips back around from where he was sticking his tongue out at the other Valkyrie, startled by the strange turn of phrase. He misses the face Meloth makes behind his back in retaliation. "Wake it up? What do you mean?"

Kiran moves away from the keypad walking out the door without answering Harry's questions, and into a metal corridor with the other younger two Valkyrie scrambling to follow closely behind him. Kiran hears a soft thump and an omph noise before Meloth laughs outright. He blatantly ignores the soft swearing that follows, raising his voice to speak over the both of them. His voice automatically slipping into the lecturing tone he uses during Harry's lessons.

"Valkyrie technologies are very different from human ones, some are sentient, in a way. Most of our technology comes from the magic that is naturally grown within the metal mined from our home world. Additional infusions and spells from our magi add to this sentience accumulation. This ship, for example, can respond to authorized voice commands once it is woken up. It can think and reason on about the same level as a high functioning child and is programmed to respond appropriately to the various chain of command members in certain aspects for their protection. There are limitations and safety measures installed, of course. The ship cannot change it's own programming for instance, and cannot be stolen as it will not respond to a non-chain of command member unless they have a specific override code that is individual for each spaceship."

The silence that follows his little monologue lets him know without the need to turn around, that Harry at least, is listening. Meloth he ignores. Kiran's sibling despite not acting his age is considerably older than Harry and is already aware of this information.

Harry lets out a long breath slowly as he takes in the information, wings fluttering a little as his mind turns over the possibilities of such a system. "That sounds complicated. What about attacks, or emergencies?"

Meloth speaks up from behind him prompting Harry to turn around to face him, walking backwards down the corridor as the other spoke. "I'm not a magi, but my understanding is that there are protocols in place for such things. As Kiran mentioned, the ship has a degree of reasoning and intelligence. It also has some room to bend its programming in extreme circumstances, or if commanded by someone with clearance to override its normal programming. It's not a perfect system, there is no such thing, but it has worked well for us for a very long time." Harry nods his head seriously, a little frown twisting his lips. He misses the amused expression on Meloth's face as he watches the normally serious Harry indulge himself in some childish mannerisms. More than willing to play along with the young Prince for the time being. Harry is still walking backwards when Meloth reaches out to flick the other in the middle of the forehead, causing green eyes to cross at him. Chuckling under his breath Meloth stops abruptly in the middle of the hall, lips stretching into a grin.

Kiran meanwhile, stops at a set of metal double doors, repeating his previous gesture with one of the sigils on the wall and typing another, much shorter code into the keypad it reveals. Harry, not paying the least bit of attention because he is focused on Meloth, scrunches his nose at the older Valkyrie in curiosity for his actions. He watch as Meloth's grin turns positively Cheshire before Harry rams backwards right into Kiran's back. Stumbling over his own feet as Kiran's face nearly smushes into the wall in front of him, muffling his curse. The double doors open for them with a metallic whine and Harry and Kiran fall flat into the middle of the room, their limbs and wings flailing everywhere as Meloth fails spectacularly to muffle his cackles.

Groaning in embarrassment and slight pain, Harry untangles himself with as little grace as possible from the heap on the floor. While doing this Harry realizes that the large curved room they have fallen into is the command deck for the shuttle. Getting himself to his feet and helping a clearly ruffled and annoyed Kiran back up onto his feet as well, Harry looks around, eyes widening in awe and fascination as he takes in the command deck around them. Not for the first time Harry is immensely grateful for both his previous life's magical runes education. After Hogwarts at Hermione's stubborn insistence, along with Kiran forcing him to learn the sigil writing of his Valkyrie people despite Harry's protests. At the time he had not seen the point of learning it, since he has never seen it outside of textbooks and various older written items saved by his people from their dying world. Despite it not being in use nearly as much before the fall of their planet, without that education, Harry would be hopelessly clueless as to what he was seeing.

The walls around them are covered in a mixture of symbols, though, in this particular room many of them are disguised as decorative creations. Harry leaves Kiran to his own devices, and senses Meloth still hovers by the doorway. Harry drifts closer to inspect the designs. He scrutinizes them closely, Harry figures out after a few moments that they are layers upon layers of complex spell and formula, too intricate for him to discern what each one means in conjunction with another symbol just as a casual perusal. He would need to take a considerable amount of time to decipher everything he sees. Harry turns away from the beautiful work and looks over to the head of the chamber, finding huge bay windows that look out into the stars. The view is breathtaking, so stunningly crisp and clear that for a few moments Harry gets lost in it. He marvels that only a few get to experience something like this in their lifetime. Never has he seen a view of the stars like this even from the earth's surface. With a sharp pang in his heart, Harry realized that he desperately wants to share this with Tony. Knowing he would be just as enthralled with all of this. But the other man is long gone, Harry feels himself blinking back frustrated and regretful tears as the emotions slams into him brutally.

Harry's attention suddenly diverts from his melancholy emotions and the magnificent cosmic light show before him as the lights flicker on above his head. Harry and the two other men with him blink a few times to adjust their eyes to the brightness from the fluorescent lights. Harry's sharp ears perked up at the soft hum of the computers in the room as they come to life. Holo screens blinking into existence in various places around the command deck. He turns in a slow circle, and watches with rapt fascination as the symbols on the walls flow and ebb with color like an ocean wave. Harry's not sure what Kiran had done to cause this reaction, but it was a lovely show to watch. He can feel faint vibrations from his toes to the roots of his hair as the ship wakes up and comes to life before his bright childlike eyes. Invisible power flows and leaps across his skin as magic rose into the air all around him. To Harry it feels as if if the ship is breathing of its own volition. Little hairs on his arms raise as Harry picks up the sensation of being watched, he looks around, but cannot place where the sensation originates. At the moment the brothers pay Harry little to no attention, their eyes are drawn to the light show just as fascinated by them as he is. Harry's own power begin to rise inside of him to meet and mingle with the shuttle's magic, but consciously he restrains it, unsure what would happen.

From his peripheral vision Harry sees Kiran suddenly blink out of his daze and turns to watch as Kiran straightens from where he is bent over a keypad, raising his voice a bit and stating firmly to the empty air of the room. "Ship, respond to voice control."

From somewhere on the command deck a clearly cybernetic, vaguely feminine voice echos in the nearly empty room. Harry jump in surprise, but a small excited grins makes it's way to his lips regardless. "Shuttle Ship MCMXXVII, Command Codename _Lotus_ recognizes and acknowledges authority of voice control. Please state your orders Valkyrie Kiran." Harry's green eyes gleam in anticipation as he realizes that the shuttle had an AI system on board. Wishing more than ever that Tony was by his side to witness this.

Green eyes sparkling, Harry tips his head back to search the ceiling for some sort of speaker or camera and finds none. He looks around checking the walls and finds the same, nothing visible to pinpoint how _Lotus_ was watching them. Harry's eyes lock on Meloth's amused brown ones and a little pout purses his lips. It always seems as if Meloth is laughing at him for some reason, it drove Harry nearly spare. Behind him he hears Kiran commanding Lotus to run an overall self diagnostic on the shuttle and to plot a cloaked course to another ship. Harry presumed it was the ship hidden behind the satellite the humans have named Pluto.

Harry's attention is again pulled away from Kiran by _Lotus's_ next words. "Cryo sleep chambers at optimal functionality, prepping three chambers for occupation. Estimation of preparation time, three minutes. Please direct yourselves to Cryo chambers for slumber."

Harry frowns a little bit, uneasy with the idea of cryosleep. Uncomfortable with the idea of being so vulnerable and helpless should something happen while they traveled through space. Since Kiran is clearly busy at the computers, Harry turns to address Meloth about the issue instead. "Cryo chambers? We're going to sleep the entire trip?"

Meloth arches his brow in surprise, caught off guard by the question. "Did you think we were going to be awake the entire four years of travel there and back?" Harry shifts restlessly on his feet and Meloth's teasing expression melts away as he realizes that Harry is genuinely nervous. "It's perfectly safe Harry, I promise. We all made it to Earth in one piece. You'll be fine. Besides, you truly don't want to be awake for this entire trip. I assure you, space travel is extremely boring in these smaller ships. There isn't much to do besides stare out the windows, and that becomes tiresome very quickly. The computer systems handle most of everything automatically, and rarely do problems come up. If one does, the crew is promptly woken up to deal with it. There are only short bursts of activity usually at the beginning of travel and at the end. For little shuttle ships anyway. There are more activity options on the larger travel ships."

A disappointed expression fell over Harry's face. "Oh…" Meloth reaches out to ruffle Harry's hair, causing the young man to scowl at him in disgust and try to fix it. "Don't worry my Lord, I'm sure my brother has a surprise in store for you."

Harry snorts softly in reply to the words, then mutters dryly, low enough for only Meloth's ears to pick up. "Why does that not comfort me?"

Kiran's deeper voice comes from behind him, Harry visibly twitched in surprise. Cheeks reddening in an embarrassed blush, he did not realize that Kiran moved over towards them. Meloth grins like a shark in Harry's direction, flashing pretty white teeth, completely unrepentant. Fortunately, it seems Kiran didn't hear Harry's comment, because he gave the both of them a look that clearly says he thinks they are weird. "Indeed I do, my Prince. I have set up a lesson plan with Lotus for you." He ignores Harry's loud groan of dismay at the concept of yet more lessons.

"You will be able to learn large amounts of information while you sleep. Years worth in a short amount of time. Normally we do not teach this way, but we have run out of time to prepare you. Knowledge is a powerful weapon, the more information you have the more effective any actions you take can potentially be. Your mother, the Queen, wanted your learning to be put off for years. She wanted you to learn and grow in the human world as one of their children did, so that you would be able to understand and relate to our new home. She believed you would be able to effectively guide our people to prosperity this way. I agreed with her, but it left us with little time in which to teach you everything that comes from growing up purely Valkyrie." Kiran pauses, taking in Harry's serious and intent expression.

Kiran reaches out a hand and gently squeezes the younger Valkyrie's arm in comfort for a brief moment before letting go. He knew how distressing bringing up the boy's mother was for him, and did so only when he needed to. "Come little Prince, we need to go. Lotus will be ready to leave this place shortly." Harry nods in silence, subdued and no longer protesting the idea of Cryo sleep.

Harry and Meloth follow Kiran off the command deck in silence down another side hallway from the larger main one to a large set of thick double doors. As the three Valkyrie walk towards them the doors open without prompting with a low hiss, revealing a donut shaped room. Cylindrical sleeping pods line the curved walls, sunk deep into the metal surrounding them. A second ring of cryo pods line the floor. The pods sunk into the floor exactly like the ones in the walls and are arranged in a matching rotating order. From the open doorway they are standing in, out to the center of the donut shaped room is a clear walking path that is four foot across. In the center of the donut is a holo computer which Harry guesses monitors the sleep chambers. Three of the pods were apparently already prepped with the doors swung open for them to climb into. Seeing the foreign reality of the cryo chamber makes Harry's heart race, his blood rushing hotly through his veins with the realization that he will have to be in the cryo chamber. Harry shifts nervously when he sees them, still uneasy with the idea of being unconscious and traveling through space with no idea of what is going on around him.

 _They look like bloody high tech space coffins!_

Anxious thoughts fill his mind, suddenly he finds it harder to breathe. Harry doesn't even notice as Kiran leaves his side to take the pathway to the center of the room. He concentrates on not having a panic attack, the idea of being locked in a tiny space...for two whole years there, and another two whole years coming back. It will be a long time something could possibly go wrong, with Harry unable to do anything about it. He will not be able to move, open his eyes, or hear anything. The computer will be the only one that will have all of the control. How can Harry explain to his two friends that the reason for his fear is because of his past life, and trauma he experienced living in a boot closet for the first eleven years of his life?

Meloth notices Harry's silent but quickly spiraling fear in the taut tension of his slim body, and he leans over to speak softly into the raven haired boy's ear. He places a hand on the small of Harry's back in an effort to soothe and ground him. "It's very safe. The ship's sentience pays close attention to our vitals. The only deaths there have been in a very long time have been natural ones, from terminal illness or age."

Harry hisses and snaps at younger Valkyrie sibling through tightly clenched teeth. "So not helping!"

Meloth purses his lips in slight frustration, but does not say anything. Instead Meloth gently ushers Harry closer to one of the open sleep pods, murmurs softly to try and comfort him as if he is a feral wolf. Meloth ignores Harry's sarcastic remarks, he knows it is the little Prince's way of to blow off the built up tension, and that Harry would not normally speak to him this way. While Kiran works on adding the lessons into the computer program for the young Prince. Neither Harry nor Meloth can see the holo computer in the center of the room. Meloth manages to get Harry to stand beside one of the pods without having an anxiety attack. Though it is obvious by this point the boy is very unhappy to be anywhere near the pod. Harry's voice is thin with tension as he tries to distract himself from his looming space nap.

"What did Kiran mean before, when he said that I will be having more lessons while sleeping? How does that work?" Reluctantly Harry climbs into the large, but rather comfortable device, green eyes lock with Meloth's serious brown ones as he did so to avoids looking at the pod as much as possible. He tries desperately to pretend he is somewhere else. Harry glamours his wings so they are out of the way, and not taking up space inside the already tight cryo pod. Meloth reaches into the chamber once Harry settles into a comfortable laying position and manually adjusts a couple of the settings as he answers. "The _Lotus_ will monitor your brainwaves and sleep patterns while we travel. Once it knows them well enough it will project the lessons into your mind, usually in a dreamlike simulation." Harry forces himself to inhale through his nose exhale slowly through his mouth, to try and release the tension that is beginning to build again. He focuses mind to listen to Meloth and lets the other man's voice soothe his nerves.

"So you're saying this ship has the capability to look into my mind? Read my thoughts and memories? Then project its own images into my dreams?" Meloth points out various carved runes inside the cryo pod chamber's door and along the inside.

"See these? It's a series of spell and tech combinations just like everything else on this ship. Think of the lessons as a type of download to your brain, only much slower so the information can actually be absorbed and retained. When the doors close and lock a mist will fill the chamber, it helps you fall asleep and keeps your physical body in a type of deep stasis. So long as the air pressure in the chamber does not change, you'll rest the entire journey in relative peace. The only place Lotus can look into your mind is when you are in this chamber. Normally it cannot project anything into your mind, Kiran is adjusting the normal protocols to allow Lotus to be able to teach you that way."

Harry nods as he concentrates on Meloth's words, his nerves starting to settle into a manageable level as the information reassures him and eases his fears. Meloth shows Harry how to check the inside of his pod. Once Meloth is sure that Harry's fears are no longer a factor he straightens his body and steps back from Harry's pod. "There, you're all set, I'm going to close the lid now." Harry nods, and offers Meloth an uncertain, timid smile. Slowly he settles into the strange idea of it all and closed his eyes as Meloth closes the pod door. Harry listens for the airlock and knows for certain that the doors are sealed. A soft hissing sound reaches Harry's ears as a mist begins to fill the chamber. It's damp with a sweet scent that reminds Harry of some strange flower he has no name for, mixed with fresh rain. He snorts softly at his ridiculous thoughts as his mind tries to come up with an explanation for the combinations of smells. Harry's feels his muscles start to relax without his command, his breathing calms and deepens, pulling more of the doctored air into his lungs. Harry notes his heartbeats quiets, each beat of his heart coming further and further apart as his body switches from being awake to slumber. Without realizing what happened Harry's thoughts begin to drift, as it slips further away from conscious awareness into the deep welcoming darkness of a drug induced sleep.

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Back on Earth, the infamous playboy Tony Stark stands motionless in the doorway of Harry's room in London. Wearing a hideously expensive, stylish grey suit that was slightly wrinkled due to his flight, with a dark blue button down shirt underneath it. His overall appearance combined with his mussed hair shows a man more focused on one mission, than his normally immaculate appearance. His deep blue eyes stare in mute horror at the setup of softly beeping hospital equipment and the crisp sterile white hospital bed that holds the normally lively green eyed man, who now lay so still. The situation struck Tony's entire being as utterly wrong, everything about it repulses him on a cellular level. Tony's mind flatly and ferociously denies what he sees in front of him. Harry shouldn't be here, lying still enough to mimic a corpse, except for the barely noticeable rise and fall of the white sheet over his chest. Everything in Tony screams and flails violently in furious gut-wrenching denial of what he is seeing. He refuses to accept the truth. Despite his inner war, on the outside Tony's expression is blank, his feet rooted to the carpet like granite. Only the feral glint in his eyes gives anyone looking a hint to his personal struggle, everything else seems to shut down. All of his senses finely tuned to the figure on the bed, and leaves room for nothing else.

A large, selfish, and ugly part of Tony whispers for him to turn around and leave. Now. Immediately. He wants to pretend he never received James Rhodes' phone call, that he never got on his private plane and flew to England. If Tony continues to deny it hard enough, if he can convince himself that this is not real, then he can tell himself it isn't true. He can be stubborn and ignore the gnawing well of hurt seeing Harry in this condition invoked in the core of his very being. Tony can simply choose to not acknowledge any of it at all and bury himself in his own endless distractions of work, parties, and easy beautiful women until he cannot remember his own name. But, instead of giving in to the cowardly, twisted part of himself, Tony forces himself to take a deep breath and slowly lets it out. He tries to release some of the tension coiled and settled deep in his gut. Tony takes a hesitant step away from the doorway where he lingered for so long, just looking, before he walks into the bedroom. Tony closes the door and it clicks softly behind him, he forces himself to try and accept that this cannot be changed or denied, no matter how much he wishes it were otherwise.

Tony steels his resolve, and lets go of the door handle. He takes a step forward, his gaze never leaves the slender figure on the bed. Tony makes sure he does not look at any of the monitors as he slowly approaches. Stopping, he stiffly stands next to the bed, and rests trembling hands on the metal guard rail. In his active refusal to acknowledge any of the medical machinery around him, Tony completely misses the tiny cameras built discreetly into the room to record the medical staff's comings and goings for Harry's safety. He studies Harry's face in silence, some of the tension slowly leaching out of his frame as the rest of the room melts away from his senses for a few minutes. He takes in Harry's paleness, the slack features, the lack of dreaming eye movements from behind closed lids. Try as Tony might he can not convince himself that Harry is just sleeping. Despite managing to block out the sight and sound of the machines around them, the harsh chemical smell permeating every inch of the room thoroughly destroys any chance of self-delusion.

Reaching out an unsteady calloused hand, Tony brushes shaky fingertips lightly over Harry's pale smooth cheek, he frowns at how cool the skin is. Recalling from so many years ago, how Harry would bitch, moan and whine anytime he was even a little bit chilled. A winter snow bunny Harry was not and never will be. The memory, one that usually makes him snicker in amusement, instead digs what feel like a bloody gaping hole into his stomach. Harshly he pushes the images of snuggles on the couch, and the odd childish snowball fights away from his mind. Tony returns his attention to the here and now. Determined to remedy this chill, Tony reaches to his left and bends down, picking up the light blanket from the end of the bed. Gently Tony covers Harry with the blanket up to his shoulders, careful of the IV drip line in Harry's arm and the monitor wires attached to his chest. He took in the closely cropped hair with a scowl of distaste. While Tony understood from reading Harry's medical chart earlier why the doctors had needed to have it done, he hates it. He knows very well Harry would have moved continents to avoid cutting his hair for any reason beyond his regular maintenance trims. A helpless, deeply painful smile tugs at his lips despite the situation, mentally picturing the epic snit fit Harry would throw when he he realized what had been done to his beautiful precious hair. This is why he refused for so long to see or even speak with the other man. Tony had instinctively known it was going to be agony. Only, he never pictured the reason to be something like this.

Mentally Tony shakes his head to clear his thoughts, he glances around the room for a chair. Seeing one in the corner of the room he walks over and pulls it across the carpet to set it beside the bed. Tony lowers his body slowly into it and tries futilely to smooth out a few wrinkles in his suit. He gives it up as a bad job, and turns his attention back to Harry instead. With a soft sigh he reaches out to pick up the cool limp hand and holds it in his own, sitting quietly with him. For a long time he simply sits there, partially slumped over in distress as he just holds onto Harry's hand. A work rough thumb absently strokes the back of Harry's hand as Tony's mind, despite his best efforts to avoid it, wanders back over the many years they have known one another. Over and over he mentally replays their childhood together, willfully skipping parts that involved his father Howard in any way. Tony's mind shies from looking further than that, unwilling to examine their later years together and the pain they still invoked in his heart when he let himself linger in those memories.

The wounds are very deep, still sluggishly bleeding no matter how many makeshift bandages Tony tries to cover them with over the years. They never truly healed. The many beautiful women and the wild parties, while fun, were merely distractions for when he wasn't working. No one sparked his interest for longer than it took to tumble a few times in bed. When he's done, Tony couldn't get them out of his space fast enough. More often than not his playmates end up being more trouble than they are worth. Tony's beginning to become very bored with all of it. None of them held a candle to Harry, and that is all he's willing to acknowledge or admit, and only privately to himself. Regardless of his personal feelings on their failed and bitter romantic entanglement, Harry had been his first best friend for many years. They had grown up together, Tony can honestly say that no one on this planet knew him better, more deeply, more truthfully than Harry. No ugly fight, no bitter heartache could justify in Tony's mind his not being here, at least once to see him. To see and comfort Harry's mother, Alice, a woman that Tony has grown close enough to as a child to happily call his Aunt. Tony has never been as close to her husband, Jasper, Harry's father. Having been wary of the man because of the actions of Tony's own father over the years. Sometimes Tony regretted that fact, now that he could look at the situation with an adult's mentality rather than a child's. Tony felt it's too little too late now however, with things the way they are between himself and Harry. Tony accepts all of this, but he wonders. If Harry is aware of his presence, would he even want Tony here after everything that passed between them?

Unable to bear it any longer while he sits by Harry's bedside in the still and silent room, Tony begins to speak softly. He recalls hearing somewhere that coma victims can sometimes subconsciously hear activities going on around them. Tony starts to talk, and tries not to linger too long on any one topic. He feels very silly once he had started, but he continues anyway, not knowing what else to do, and not being able to walk away. He talks about anything that enters into his head, letting himself sink into the one sided conversation until it doesn't feel so strange and awkward anymore. It wasn't that much different than talking to his AI, Jarvis, only without the snarky responses back. Tony finds, that the easiest things to talk about are projects from his work in Stark Industries, sparing no detail as he went. They are simple for his mind to wrap around, lacking the emotional minefields that lay in wait for him in some of the other topics he can chose from. Talking about his work projects relaxed Tony, it gives him something to focus on that wasn't his own distress, or Harry's lack of movement beyond breathing. It wasn't like Harry could tell Tony to shut up, or inform him that he couldn't understand the equations and calculations anyway.

For hours Tony's soft baritone echos quietly in the room as he speaks, moving the topic from work projects to random conversation. He darts wildly here, and there over various subjects in his everyday life until his voice was scratchy and rough; sore from hours of constant use with no water to soothe it. Finally Tony cannot talk any longer. His throat protests painfully of any further attempts and his heart feels as if it is sinking down to the lowest point of his expensive leather shoes. Despite sticking to safe subjects, Tony is still deeply depressed by the end of it.

Tony looks up as he notices the light coming into the room from the windows has drastically changed. He's been there since early morning and now the sun is getting ready to set. Tony blinks in surprise as he realizes that he's been sitting there all day holding Harry's hand, not even moving to get something to eat, besides the bagel and coffee he scarfed down that morning. He did not feel hungry, even now that he realized the hour. Sighing, he stretches out in the chair, and listens to his spine pop in a couple of places. The hospital nurse will be coming shortly for Harry's evening check. He slumps in the chair again, Tony feels emotionally drained after the long one-sided conversation he carried on for most of the day. His butt and lower back ache fiercely from sitting in the chair for so long, though he really did not notice before now. Despite jet lag, a complete lack of sleep in a reasonable time frame, and the nurse coming soon, Tony finds himself still reluctant to leave. Even if emotionally, Tony has nothing more left to offer the silently listening man right at this moment in time. He feels gutted and hollowed out by the entire affair.

The opening of the bedroom door causes Tony to turn his head from staring blankly out the window, refocusing his attention away from his internal observations. He nods politely as he recognizes the plump older grey-haired female as a nurse when she walks in. Tony was introduced to the older woman this morning by Harry's mother, Alice, as the nurse was on her way out the door from Harry's morning check-in. His voice scratchy as he greets her. "Wendy." He offers softly, ignoring the sharp but brief pain in his throat at the vocalization. He discreetly sets Harry's hand back down onto the white sheets and gently untangles their woven together fingers, wondering as he did so, when that had happened. He did not remember doing it, but mentally decides to shrug it off as not something worth agonizing over considering everything else going on.

Wendy gives Tony a sympathetic smile in return to his greeting, not noticing his carefully sly actions as she speaks. "I'm very sorry to interrupt your visit. It's time for you to go Mr. Stark. Sinclair senior will be home soon and will want to sit with his son privately as he always does before dinner. Alice said she had to step out for a few minutes, but she asked me to inform you that you are welcome to return tomorrow if you would like." She approaches the bed briskly, picking up a clipboard with Harry's chart information on it from the dresser it was resting on. Glancing over her patient critically to note any changes as Tony responds quietly to her words, respectful and subdued.

"I'll only be able to be in town for a few days. So yes, please let Alice know I'd like to come by again tomorrow, after I get some sleep." Gently he tucks Harry's hand back into the bed covers to keep it from becoming chilled, rising from his chair to leave. But before he walks out, he brushes his hands down his clothing in another vain attempt to straighten out the wrinkles in his hopeless suit. Tony murmurs a soft goodnight to the nurse as she goes about her business scribbling down any changes onto the chart in her hands. She hums in acknowledgement to his words, not trying to be rude, but she is clearly busy and distracted by her task. Normally Tony would be offended at the blunt dismissal, but right then he just did not care. He's possessed by the sudden sharp need to just leave the room, to get away from it all for a few minutes at least. He turns and leaves without another word, he pulls out his state of the art Stark custom designed cell phone from his pocket as he goes. Turning it back on when he lightly closes the door behind him, and striding purposely down the hallway. His tone of voice is notably tired as he speaks into it. "Jarvis, call a cab to take me to the hotel you booked earlier, would you? Also, any calls or messages I need to deal with right away?"

The AI's small British voice sounds promptly from the speaker on Tony's phone directly into the billionaire's ear. And Tony find himself suddenly and ridiculously grateful to have someone answer back to him when he speaks. "Call has been placed for your cab sir. Estimated time, about fifteen minutes. Your messages thus far have been progress reports for the Research and Development Department, financial reports for the new project you presented to the board last month, some inquires from the Research and Development Department that are not of an immediate priority and a couple of personal emails from Ms. Potts and Mr. Stane. None of which are marked as urgent and can wait until later if you so desire Sir. "

Tony nods absently to himself as he walks out the front door and leans against the wall, waiting outside for the cab. Tired mind already jumping ahead to what the Research and Development Department could need from him. Tony thought he had made sure his instructions were perfectly clear, even for idiots. "Yes, they'll wait. I'm going to call in room service when I get to the hotel and sleep for a while."

Soundly mildly pleased, the AI responds in a near disgustingly chipper tone. "Very good Sir, would you like me to order before you arrive to the hotel?"

Restless while he waits Tony begins to tap his foot in an unconscious effort to release the building tension as he leans against the stone wall of the house. "No. I'm not sure what I want yet." Blue eyes wander over the pedestrians on the street, watching them go about their business with a sincere lack of enthusiasm on his part. He is pathetically grateful that no one in this part of the London neighborhood seems inclined to give him a second glance. He did not want anything to do with a mob of media or fans at this point in the day. Tony was not sure he would be able to keep his temper in the face of that kind of stupidity right now. Not that he normally did not adore the attention, because of course he did, but it was the last thing he wanted now.

"As you wish sir." Cautiously, Jarvis inquires, " How was your visit with Mr. Sinclair?"

Tony grimaced at the surname, put off by it for reasons he refused to consider at the moment. "Harry, Jarvis. Call him Harry...Mr. Sinclair is his father. And it was depressing as hell. I don't want to talk about it."

The AI replies in a soft somber tone, "As you wish Sir." and falls silent. Before Tony can say anything else to the British sounding AI, he hears the motor of a car in the distance on a street that otherwise had little traffic. Turning his head to look, and seeing what he figured was his cab coming down the street Tony straightens from his relaxed position and steps forward to be better seen. He snaps his cell shut without saying goodbye and slides his phone into a pocket. When the black cab car stops after pulling up tightly to the curb, he opens the back door and slides into the seats, curtly giving the hotel address to the driver. He does not speak unless it's necessary for the rest of the ride to the hotel. His mind lingers on bittersweet memories of a certain emerald eyed boy.

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As time passes slowly, there is no significant change in golem Harry's condition save the continued loss of weight all coma patients suffer from, and the gradual lengthening of his dark hair. Tony visits as often as he can for several days at a time when he can get away from Stark Industries, Pepper, and Stane without interruption or suspicion of where he disappears to. He knows Rhodey visits just as often when the older man can get time off from the military as well, though he and Tony never visit at the same time. Tony isn't bothered by that, he prefers to spend time privately with Harry during his visits. The situation is too emotional for him to want an audience, even if that audience was one of his closest and best friends. While he knows perfectly well Rhodey will never use such a personal thing against him, Tony sees no need to expose the raw nerve to anyone without good reason.

When it finally reaches the six month mark with no changes in Harry in either direction, Tony's hope that the other man will recover and wake up as the doctors kept suggesting, wanes. Each time he visits Harry, the ugly fact sinks in a little bit more, despite his best efforts to ignore it. There is a very real, and frightening possibility that Harry will never come back from where ever his mind has gone. Leaving behind an empty shell of flesh and bone for his friends and family to cling to and despair over. Nothing more than a breathing corpse. Tony continues to do extensive research on the subject using Jarvis, he educates himself as much as he can about Harry's medical condition. The information is not very reassuring, it drives him to heavy drink and have rage fueled fits more than once. Medically, Dr. Blake and his staff are doing everything they can for Harry. But the longer the raven haired man stays under, the more the percentage chance that Harry will wake up and still be the man Tony remembers grows slimmer and slimmer.

Deeply disturbed by the concept of losing Harry forever to this vegetable like state, Tony tries to distract himself on his vigils by talking to Harry. Filling the constant silence of the bedroom with the sound of his own voice. Over time, he speaks more and more of private personal things going on in his life. Ranging from day to day activities to his growing frustration and discomfort with Stane's actions handling of things within Stark Industries of late. With a certain devilish relish, he recounts his constant game of dodging Pepper and her evil paperwork demons. Along with her demands of charity functions, pointless art shows and other garbage in her endless attempts to portray his image better in the media. Tony speaks about Rhodey's adventures in the military too. What he is allowed to know about, and some things he really shouldn't have known about, thanks to the wonderful, amazing Jarvis. Tony recalls out loud with a mixture of amusement and mortification beloved childhood memories that embarrassed them both or made him laugh despite himself.

Over the course of these visits and one sided conversations Tony slowly begins to realize just how much he misses Harry. By talking about and reliving so many years spent together, whether they are lovers or not, Tony is forced to acknowledge how much of an impact the other man had made on everything that Tony is as a human being. How deeply Harry touched his life, and still does even now. Despite years apart from one another and distance between them, Tony discovers that the green eyed man was irrevocably woven into his subconscious. Privately he admits to himself that Harry will always be his first best friend, forever. That will never change, no matter their disagreements and fights. That no matter how many denials Tony claims. Harry is never going to leave his soul. Tony realizes he is completely screwed.

The realization of how deeply Harry was a part of himself terrifies Tony. Self-reflection has never been the billionaire's strong suit, usually he went out of his way to avoid that sort situation, but the time spent with Harry left room for little else. Unable to turn away from the blatant truth in front of him, Tony plucks up his courage and takes a good long hard look at their years together before their spectacular blow up at the end. He considers all the comfortable happiness they shared without even trying. It was so smooth and easy between them on a normal basis that Tony had not even noticed just how well the two of them fit together. They both worked hard, and never became too offended when the other became distracted by work.

They reminded one another to eat and forcefully pulled the other away when a break was necessary, usually for sleep. Their disagreements had been few and far between. The sex had been fantastic, even if Harry had still been shy about the feminine parts of his body from time to time. Tony hasn't found anything, or anyone that even comes close to comparison, in his opinion. Tony realizes in hindsight, with time and distance to cool his temper from their ending argument, that it should not have destroyed their relationship the way it had. Tony knew he could be ill-tempered at times, and reckless, but still. For the life of him, he still did not understand the other man's reasoning at the time, but Tony had come to accept that he did not handle the situation well. His pride, insecurities and hurt had gotten in the way of better sense and reasoning, along with his temper, and taken over his words. Tony had lashed out in anger at what he had perceived as a rejection of himself personally. The memory of it still stung sharply and left a bitter taste on Tony's tongue.

The days following their breakup Tony had been furious and self-righteous, convinced when Harry did not immediately come after him to mend their tiff that Harry would approach him after the graduation ceremony. When this didn't happen, Tony asked Rhodey if he had seen Harry or his parents. It was then that Rhodey curtly informed him that Harry had left the country the day before. Leaving only a voicemail for Rhodey on his cell phone and was not accepting phone calls. When Tony tried to call Harry, furious once again, Rhodey had stopped him, stating the reason Harry had left in the first place was because Tony had said he didn't want to see or speak with him. Not knowing how to deal with the information, and fully denying any of this was his fault, Tony tried to convince himself that Harry had never given a damn about him and resolved that he wouldn't give a damn about Harry either.

Tony ignored when Rhodey tried to tell him Pepper had something to do with the beginnings of the fight. Even now, he couldn't see how she had anything to do with a fight that had been a long time in coming. So he blew Rhodey off and threw himself into his partying and his work. Bringing Stark Industries to new heights trying to leave his father's legacy in the metaphorical dust behind him. All of it leading up to this point, this realization, right when Tony has to leave for his weapons demonstration for the Jericho missile system in Afghanistan. Tony has slowly and painfully reached the conclusion that Harry might have been a once in a lifetime opportunity that he had taken for granted, and then tossed away over a bruised ego and petty assumptions of Harry's intent.

Now with Harry so still before him, Tony realizes he'd thrown away something vital to his happiness. Bitterly, he laughs softly to himself, firmly squeezes the limp hand he held within his own. Well aware of the irony of life forcing Tony to finally acknowledge this awful and wonderful truth only after Harry seems to be beyond his reach. Weaving his fingers through Harry's own, Tony raises it to his lips, lightly brushing them against soft skin as he contemplates the many possibilities their life could have taken together if he had handled the whole mess in college better than he had. If Tony had been more patient and not pushed so hard when Harry was struggling to find them both an answer that could work. Tony didn't have a family to disappoint the way Harry does, and he made the terribly arrogant and short sighted assumption that Harry would drop everything to tag along with Tony into whatever adventure came their way. Blinking back the tears that burned his eyes, Tony lets out a tension filled breath in a soft whoosh of air. God, he's been such a self-absorbed idiot when it came to Harry. Tony could not find it in himself to blame the other for staying away. He wonders how badly he'd broken Harry's heart with his carelessness. With his idiotic blindness.

Taking what might be his last chance Tony stomps down his pride and ego, pushes away the hurt that still lingers and screws up his courage. He leans over to lightly kiss Harry on his cold lips. Resting his forehead against the other man's for a few moments afterwards. Tony closes his eyes in a failed attempt to hold back the tears that had finally broken free. Shakily, in a soft rough voice Tony speaks to the comatose body before him. He hoped Harry could hear the softly spoken words, because Tony suspects his words are going to be too little, too late otherwise.

"You know, I never envisioned us like this Harry. I don't know what I pictured to be honest, but it sure as hell wasn't this, with you lying here. With us living an ocean apart because of some god awful, stupid, fight I still don't understand. I don't know why I never called, I know if I had been persistent enough you would have gotten back to me. My ego got in the way I guess...my pride, my temper. So many reasons that never truly meant anything other than denying that I was partially responsible for what happened. I'm sorry for that. I don't think you'll ever know how sorry. How much I'll always regret the years wasted being angry with you and myself. "

Tony sits back in his seat, then opens his eyes, he reaches up with his other hand, lightly strokes one pale cheek as he studies Harry's face intently, continuing to speak. "Four years is a long time to be with someone Harry. I didn't understand that at the time. We were both so young. I didn't realize how rare that kind of connection is to find with someone special. How lucky both of us were able to find it in the first place, and in our best friend in the world, someone who already understood us to our cores. Someone we didn't have to change for, to make excuses or hide our oddities from. It was so easy between us Harry. I want it back, so badly...but you're not waking up, so the best I can do is talk to empty air, and hope that somewhere in there you can hear me. It took me a ridiculously long time to admit this Harry, but I want to tell you anyway. I love you. I am completely, madly, insanely in love with you. I couldn't get you out of my head no matter what I did, or who I was with. You were there in some small way every single day. Sometimes I really hated you for it, when I was still trying to deny everything, when I was still trying to blame you. I don't care about any of that anymore, it was a meaningless fight in the long run…"

Tony's words drift off, again he raises Harry's hand to brush his lips over the back of it, whispering softly against the skin. His voice breaking on the roughly spoken words as Tony loses his composure enough to let himself be reduced to begging from an individual who couldn't possibly respond to him. "Just wake up Harry, please...Please open your eyes..."

He falls silent, gently setting the cool hand down onto the bed covers. He blinks rapidly and brushes away the tear tracks with his sleeve, uncaring that it is terrible manners. Like Harry would give a damn even if he was awake. Pulling away after a little while Tony gathers his things to leave, unable to handle staying in the room any longer due to his emotional state. Tony turns from Harry's bed and freezes in place, sapphire eyes widening like a startled deer. Alice Sinclair stands in the bedroom doorway, and it is apparent from her relaxed position, she has been there for some time without him knowing. Her expression sad, and tears glittering on her eyelashes as she gazes at him in heartbreak. Tony flounders, not knowing what to do, horribly embarrassed that she caught his personal confession, Tony does something he hasn't done in many years. He blushes. Brilliantly crimson from the tips of his ears down his neck, and stutters. "M-Mrs. Sinclair! I didn't know you were there...I-"

Alice cuts him off swiftly with a wobbly gesture of her hand, well aware of how the man could babble when nervous, as Tony had done it even as a child. Traits he carried over into adulthood, though it is much better controlled in normal circumstances. She raises her chin with a mildly displeased expression, she crosses her arms over her chest and clears her throat delicately before she demands softly "Do you have any idea how long I have been trying to get that boy to marry, Tony Stark?"

Tony shifts uncomfortably, eyes instinctively darting around quickly for the exit, but the petite woman was blocking the only one. She clears her throat again, and jerks Tony's attention back to her to find an exact replica of Harry's arched eyebrow on her feminine features. He is at a loss on what to do in this situation.

"Well? You want to explain to me why neither one of you thought to inform me, his poor mother, of the fact that I am wasting my time parading all those lovely British women around the house for him? Neither of you thought to let me know that Harry was already arse over kettle for a mouthy little American boy?"

By now there is an amused smile tugging her lips, showing Tony that despite her scolding tone, she is not angry. Tony's mind is still stuck on the arse over kettle comment. "For shame! Mothers need to know things like this so they don't embarrass themselves lobbing the wrong sex at their son!" She tsks at him. Tony blinks at her, emotionally drained and unable to handle this strangeness. "Sorry?" He offers hesitantly, unsure if that is the correct response.

Sensing Tony's unbalance she drops her teasing, straightens from her position by the door and walks over to Tony and resting a hand lightly on his arm in comfort. "It's alright Tony. Truly. I was starting to strongly suspect that Harry might be gay anyhow. Jasper has not said anything, but I think he suspects I was wasting my time as well. "

She suddenly smiles at him sadly again. "I didn't know it would be you, my dear. You have quite the reputation according to the media. Be a good boy and try not to drag my son into that three ring circus if you can avoid it, alright?" She firmly squeezes his arm as he gives her a slight nod. "Good, now go rest, you look like you haven't slept well in ages, and I know you have to leave soon."

He replies politely, not wanting to rock the boat and possibly turn this from a mildly awkward and unsettling experience into an even more deeply unpleasant one. "Yes Ma'am." She pats his shoulder as he leaves the room, Tony refuses to admit it is his way of fleeing. He heads to the guest room Harry's parents offered to let him use whenever he visits Harry, instead of the slow drive through London traffic to whatever hotel Jarvis arranges for him to stay. Tony does not mind, it is quieter, and he was closer to Harry. After his visits with Harry, London nightlife does not appeal to him, so he prefers to stay at Sinclair Mansion. In the morning he will be on a flight to Afghanistan, so he needs to sleep. He visits with Harry one last time in the morning before he walks out the door. It would be a while before he will be able to visit again. Pepper and Stane keep Tony insanely busy for the next few months doing things for Stark Industries. After that, he will make arrangements to visit again. Closing the door to his room behind him Tony quickly strips out of his clothes, takes a short shower before he climbing into bed to rest. It takes a long time for Tony to finally fall to sleep.


	11. Phoenix Rising

**A/N:** _Covers Iron Man 1 & 2\. Movie events are slightly altered. The first Movie is mostly Death's POV with some Tony thrown in. The second Movie is a mix of POV's so please be aware of this. _

_Warnings for language, angst, mentions of torture, character death, violence of various sorts._

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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Death often spends long stretches of time just observing the many life forms around her. Watches them come into being, and leave in a various multitude of ways. Everything from peacefully surrounded by one's family, to complex torture, devastating bloody war, disease, famine and so many others. Normally such comings and goings of fleeting mortal being's lives did not bother the entity. The end of their lives were just another step in the ever rejuvenating circle of life, as dictated by the Primal Source of Creation. The Source was not a god or an immortal, as many beings mistook it for, but the formless matter that birthed the many universes. All powers wielded by the gods come from the Source but only Primal gods can manipulate the Source. This is also why a god's power returns to the Creation Source after their death, until another is chosen to replace that fallen god. Not even the Primals know why or how a replacement is chosen by the Creation Source. The balance or flow of the Source is very delicate, and should it be disrupted it could destroy existence. This is why the Primal Gods guard any information about the Source viciously. It is unknown what created the Source, but the Primals instinctively know the Source as their point of life. Without it they, nor anything else, would exist.

Observing these varied continuous cycles on millions of worlds, Death did little to interfere in the long eons she has held her godly position. However, Death had promised to watch over the mortals precious to Harry's heart, and a promise from such a creature as herself was no light boon. There are few rules a Primal being like Death had to follow. Some, like this one, could be bent so long as it wasn't constantly abused. Others could not be broken, ever. Punishment meant the end of one's own privileged immortal existence, with another chosen to replace the fallen god. The giving of one's sworn word was one such rule that could not be broken, thusly, these deeply binding promises are very rarely given to anyone. One of many reasons the gods take such bitter offense at mortals breaking their promises.

Being one of the Primal Gods of Creation; Death is very well aware of these unspoken rules, and has seen many countless gods both major and minor rise and fall throughout time primarily because of disregard of these unbreakable rules. Over reaching their bounds is another common one, along with hubris. There are nine Primals in total, each Death became familiar with over time, since their various Domains overlap frequently. Many of the Primals were genderless, like Death, while others locked themselves into a preferred form. Magic, for example, had chosen to remain female many millions of years ago. Destiny is another Primal God that Death was closely familiar with. Though Destiny was reclusive, concerned with little else outside of the Threads of Fate, and the Tapestry Loom those threads were woven on. Rarely did Destiny interact with other Primals, never mind any of the mortal lives woven into that endless tapestry. While it is within Death's vast power know the beginning and ending hours of life for each soul in existence, Destiny knew their lives, intimately; from first breath to last wheeze. Including all the Gods alike. Death actively avoided the creepy god whenever possible outside of a work capacity. It was hardly a loss in the conversation department, and Destiny never seemed to notice.

Since Harry's transformation, Death often wondered where the former Wizard would fall into the Immortal Ranking of the many, many gods. Having created the little godling, instead of him being born to replace an already Fading God, Death had little idea what to expect. Death suspected that judging the little one based on his power now was pointless, Harry was still just a babe coming into his abilities. Death firmly believed that Harry's power would grow, expand and bloom well into his first few millennia. Until then, the young god first needed to learn the basics of what he could do. Only time and experience would eventually answer most of Death's questions concerning the former mortal. After the spectacular failure with Thanos, Death was enthusiastic that this experiment would come along much better. After all, the Deathly Hollows were created specifically to seek out the one Death needed to be successful in this endeavor. A true companion of the heart.

Three items carefully chosen and painstakingly gathered up over time. Bathed in Death's Primal blood and heavily enchanted to their purpose, nearly giving them life and mind of their own. The skin of a fallen god was treated and sewn into the coveted cloak of invisibility; a sliver of the Yggdrasil World Tree meticulously crafted into the famed Elder wand; and the Resurrection Stone. Death's pride and joy of the three. A shard of the deadly Infinity Stone, known more commonly as the Soul Gem. Purposely shattered by Death to keep its devastating power out of the hands of the insane Titan Thanos. The madman claimed his many campaigns of mass enslavement and genocide across multiple universes were courting gifts to his beloved Death, but the ancient being was not enamored of them in the least. The Titan utterly failed to comprehend the importance of universal balance. The Primal god was deeply disgusted by the Titan's obsession with obliterating life wherever he found it. Unfortunately, for some reason, Death was unable to kill the beast. So the god was stuck returning to the Titan's side again and again to keep an eye on the monster's where abouts and doings. Which Thanos, deep in his own power mad delusions, took as romantic interest and approval, no matter what Death said to the contrary. The vile creature only took it as the Primal god playing coy, and so the situation remained unresolved. It was a pleasant bonus to be so fond of the little Valkyrie Prince. That is why Death continues with the plans for transformation despite the situation with the Titan.

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In the meantime Death remains near to the little blue planet upon which the young godling had made his home. Keeping a close eye on Harry and his two companions in cryo sleep as they move across the human solar system in their little shuttle ship. Death also keeps an eye on the Valkyrie people who remained on Earth. Watching events unfold with increasing amusement after Harry's departure from the planet's surface. Poor Alice's anguish was not particularly entertaining to the being, but Death was appreciative of the skilled work and precise thought the Valkyrie Prince had put into his getaway scheme. Harry's adoptive human parents, with the help of Valkyrie Medical staff and Police, believed the elaborate robbery ruse wholeheartedly. Both grieving and hopeful of a better outcome for their son in equal turns.

Meanwhile Harry's as of yet unclaimed mate was the most interesting development of the lot. One very colorful and stubborn mortal man by the name of Tony Stark, finally got over his own sense of hurt ego and made his way to England. Death felt no pity for the man, if Harry truly had been lying broken on that hospital bed, the entity felt Stark deserved a bit of sorrow over lost chances. The god was not pleased with Tony's past snub of Harry, regardless of the circumstance or reasons. In spite of her personal feelings on the matter, it was Stark she was most concerned about watching over. The human had a tendency to be careless and reckless with his personal safety. Completely oblivious at this point in time to the impact his injury or death would have on Harry. Acting on a hunch, the god places a tracking and monitoring spell on the man, privately hoping to not need to use them, but suspecting otherwise. Death's intuitive concern about the incautious mortal is validated not long after Harry was deeply entrenched in cryo sleep.

The first time Death is called to Stark's side, the human is traveling in a hot unforgiving desert terrain the humans had named Afghanistan. The entity materializes into chaos and wreckage by the human's side, carefully Death remains invisible to human perception as the deity assess the situation. Death looks around and finds a ruin of scorched and twisted metal husks that at one time appear to have been a line of military vehicles. The breeze was foul with the scents of burnt flesh, blood, gunpowder and overheated metal. Luckily Death didn't require breathing, because the sand kicked up by the violent conflict is thick in the afternoon air, making it difficult to see very far. On the ground around them there were American soldier corpses in the destruction, but Death was not interested in them. By the very nature of Death's powers, she instinctively knew that these lives were meant to end now as events were unfolding. T

heir souls would return to the in between place until they were properly sorted to wherever their next step is to be. For them, the pain was done, this life cycle is at its completion. Kneeling down in the hot sand Death considers the still form of one Tony Stark, who is easily recognizable without an American military uniform, wearing his usual business suit. Sighing softly, Death closely examines the damage done to the unconscious man's chest, frowning with unease at the large amount of dark blood that spreads over the white dress shirt like some kind of morbid flower. The man is oblivious in his unconscious state, so the entity reaches out to lightly touch the bloody wound, ignoring the continued rifle fire and shouts that echo around them. Releasing a gentle burst of power through the mortal's body in an effort to better determine the actual damage below what is apparent on the surface. Death grimaces in immense displeasure at the numerous pieces of shrapnel in dangerous proximity to Tony's, thankfully, still beating heart. Acting swiftly, because it would not take much for the mortal to pass into the next realm in his present state, Death quickly traps the soul into the mortal's body. Preventing it from leaving until Death could figure out some way to repair the damage done internally. Healing was not the Primal god's strong point on the best of days, this would be a challenge Death wasn't quite sure it could overcome. The best Death can do is lock Stark in the land of the living for a while, bandage him up, and find a mortal healer to do the rest.

Hearing foreign voices growing closer than before, the being looks up to observe as a scruffy group of armed natives searched through the wreckage and bodies. Before Death could decide what to do with the situation one of them spots Stark and calls to his companions, converging over the prone man. Death bit her bottom lip in reservation as she watches them. She can not so blatantly interfere with what fated happenings were purposely planned and woven by Destiny. This series of events reeks of the weaver's special flavor of magic. The other Deity has a vested interest in this situation in regards to this place and time, though Death is uncertain what it can be at the moment. Sighing in resignation, Death reluctantly observes as they gather the billionaire as well as the stolen supplies they found. Retreating with prisoner and spoils to the complex network of hidden natural desert caves embedded into the rocky hillsides they are using as a base of operations. The entire rough journey Death stays by Stark's side, watching in frustration as they nearly drop the helpless man more than once in the long winding walk back. Diligently monitoring Stark's delicate condition until the other humans search out a doctor to treat him. If the Primal god had left Stark to his own devices, the mortal would have died on the battered stretcher before ever reaching the caves.

After several long minutes of impatiently waiting, a couple of the men come back. They push and prod a tired and dirty man towards the wounded billionaire. Looking this new person over carefully, Death notes that this doctor the natives brought in appears to be a prisoner as much as Stark. Though dirty, clearly underfed and covered in scrapes and bruises, the man's hands were steady as they gently peel back Stark's bloodied shirt to examine the damage. The wounds are still bleeding sluggishly, but it is the internal damage and the shrapnel the Elder God is most concerned about. How will the mortal even know, if he cannot see it? He will require hospital equipment to asses Stark's health. The conditions inside the cave room are decidedly filthy, and the doctor is very limited in what tools he can find or convince his guards to search out. Death grimly leans over to observe this Yinsen's rough bloody work on Stark's body, curious what the mortal could do with the wounds considering the deplorable situation. The Deity watches with an unhappy frown as Stark's chest is opened up, causing more damage, blood loss, and a near guarantee for infection. When the god sees the old car battery she doesn't realize what it is for right away. The car battery is carefully attached to the magnets already placed inside the chest cavity and Death has to stop herself from doing something irrational in retaliation. Seeing that it is preventing the remaining shrapnel from piercing Stark's heart calms the being just a little. Regardless of the other worldly creature's misgivings and disgust with the situation, the method, though hideously crude, is indisputably working.

During the gruesome process of opening up the chest cavity, Stark begins to stir , and Death suddenly realizes that before this process started the Doctor did not use anesthetic to keep him unconscious. Swiftly the being moves to Stark's head and making sure no one else in the room but Stark can see, Death shifts its features in an effort to calm or distract the man from what is going on around him. The last thing the mortal needed to do was flail around and cause himself even more damage at this delicate and critical point of the surgery. Death takes on an illusion of Harry's appearance as she reaches out to gently stroke the man's hair and his cheek, murmuring softly in comfort. Tony's eyes are dilated and shift wildly, leaving only a thin ring of dark blue to be seen, his face twisted in fear, confusion and pain. Luckily, Stark does not appear to be aware enough to comprehend his situation and is easily entranced. When he finally focuses enough to see Harry's face, the blue eyes never leave it during the short period of time he remains awake.

Thankfully it does not last very long, one of the guards sees Stark's eyes are open and covers the mortal's nose and mouth with a Chloroform soaked rag. Death watches critically as the mortal's eyes roll back into his skull, slipping into insensibility once more. Within a few breaths, Stark is deeply unconscious once again. The doctor, Yinsen, does not seem to hear Stark's muffled slurred words to Harry, and the guard obviously didn't care. After a time Death glances over her shoulder and discovers that Yinsen has finished connecting the battery and begins to clean up the grizzly chest wound as best he can with the supplies on hand. Frowning, Death lays a cold hand of her own lightly over the still open partially open wound, calling upon a weak and rarely used portion of her power. She could not heal the man of his injuries, but she could do a few little things to protect him in other ways. Destiny's weave allowed for this at least. Gently Death eases her power into the mortal's battered body, using it to soothe the heat and pain of the injury. Then sets up an invisible, thin barrier to ward off infection and sepsis. In a place this rustic and dirty as the cave system, dying from shock and illness is a large possibility.

Seeing that there was nothing else the entity could do to help Stark without interfering too much in the balance of things, Death caresses his cheek one last time and steps away, fading from the world, but still keeping a close eye on the mortal. Stark would survive his wound, though not without cost. Death would linger close by in case she was needed again while Stark was trapped in captivity by the locals. The situation was extremely volatile, plus Stark had a smart mouth even at the best of times, and a severely skewed sense of self preservation. The mortal's soul was still locked into his body, so that would give him an edge he would not have otherwise had. Short of his body being completely destroyed, or bleeding out dry, Stark would live where others would perish. Even with these actions, Death was pushing the boundaries of what she could safely interfere with within Destiny's weave.

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Death notes with wry amusement that upon waking, Stark handles the situation with his usual bullheadedness, and defiance. Wholly unsurprising to the being closely watching over events. Unfortunately for the arrogant mortal, his captors have little patience for the man's attitude and promptly introduce Stark to a large unfriendly water tub. Still, Stark's stubbornness holds out for several days of rough treatment and waterboarding before the billionaire reigned in his sarcastic tongue and started to use his brain. Death had been starting to wonder if the man was purposely trying to get himself shot and die in those sandy caves. Talking with Yinsen appeared to help mellow Stark's attitude from outright rebellion to covert manipulations of his captors. Smart, considering Death was pretty sure the natives were reaching the end of their rather short patience. Terrorists weren't known for their forgiving natures and sense of humor after all.

Death did have to admit however, that when the man put his mind to something, the genius was immensely resourceful and creative. Stark knew how to manipulate and deceive well when he actually wanted to employ the skill set. Death observes with growing exasperation and amusement the way Tony and Yinsen build a means of defense and escape directly under their captor's noses. A giant metal suit of armor, of all things. Well, the man was well known for coming out of left field with some of his ideas. Death muses silently as she watches the slow but steady progression of the crude, clunky suit. Usually these ideas were turned into weapons to be sold through Stark Industries, so the Primal god wasn't surprised that Stark chose a weapon as his means of escape. There were plenty of parts lying around to be used after all, but the format the weapon took was certainly something unseen before here on Earth. It was rather clever, what the human could come up with using a pile of piecemeal parts and scrap metal. Death watches in curious fascination as Tony creates the miniature version of an arc reactor to replace the use of the battery he had to lug around to do anything. Placing the reactor within his own chest cavity with barely a blink, both ridding himself of the cumbersome car battery and now having a source of power for the metal suit they were constructing.

In their final rushed bid for freedom however, their carefully constructed plan quickly unravels. The mortal Yinsen passes into Death's realm before he can reach the desert sunlight. Pleased with the mortal for helping Stark as he had, the entity halts the spirit's journey briefly and allows the man's soul to linger long enough to watch Stark's escape and the subsequent rescue by the American military. Death laughs softly under her breath as Stark took the time to thoroughly annihilate everything in his path before taking to the air in the strange armor. The mortal had a vindictive streak a mile wide and then some. In this at least, he was a good match for Harry, who was more often than not, too sweet and forgiving when he should not be. Not to say that Harry couldn't be just as vicious, only that it took much to rouse the Valkyrie to such a state.

When Stark is safely in the protective arms of his friend Colonel James Rhodes, Death feels comfortable enough to move on to other tasks that had thus far been ignored while Stark was threatened. Death turns to the mortal soul lingering beside her in content silence, observing the destructive events unfolding. Death inclines her head to the spirit in respectful acknowledgement before using her power to send Yinsen's soul on its way to whatever version of torment or paradise awaited it after judgement. Death then returned to its own normal duties, content that Tony is safe enough for now in the hands of his friends and the medical doctors of his own people. However, as a paranoid precaution, Death leaves the mortal's soul locked with the fleshy body. She had a hunch this was only the beginning of Destiny's meddling. Rarely did the other Primal god pay such specific attention to one mortal, but the flavor of Destiny's magic was only growing stronger with time. Indicating much more was to come, and that somehow, Tony Stark and the events that took place here in this forsaken place were a significant piece of it.

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When Tony returns back home in the states, Yinsen's words are still ringing in his ears along with the faint phantom echoes of screams and gunfire. After feeding himself a few much missed Burger King cheeseburgers, Tony took Yinsen's words to heart and went about changing his life with a ruthless determination usually reserved only for his binge projects in the lab. One of the first things Tony did was totally shut down and dismantle the weapons department within Stark Industries, loudly and publicly in a media conference. Regardless of the waves of displeasure it caused in the people around him and the ugly argument it sparked with Rhodey, Tony refused to change his mind.

In the days following his homecoming Tony has to ruthlessly suppress an instinctive response to flinch at loud noises. Vivid nightmares left him with too little sleep and even less tolerance for daily stupidity than normal. He was drawn and haggard, consuming enough coffee to take down an elephant just to keep functioning throughout the day. When he was finally left alone long enough Tony immediately used Jarvis to launch an investigation into where the stolen weapons had disappeared from within Stark Industries. Tony was certain that someone, somewhere knew what was going on. While the search was constantly running in the background, Tony began plans for a new upgraded version of the suit that had saved his life. Since Stark Industries was responsible for the misplaced weapons, Tony was hell bent on cleaning up the mess. Even if it meant he needed to personally hunt down each and every single weapons cache he could find and destroy them by himself.

Thank God for Pepper's experience for running interference because of Tony's sometimes less than stellar personality. He was too busy, too focused on his personal mission to bother with the rest of the demanding world outside his door. At first he got away with not leaving the house. Using the excuses of settling back in and recovery, but they didn't last long. Truth was, Tony was half convinced he'd be shot walking out his front door. But mostly, he just could not be bothered with the pettiness, the flashing lights and pointless drama he used to so enjoy drowning himself in. None of it was important any longer, not since Afghanistan. Not since Yinsen. Not since Tony Stark was forced to stare at a twisted reflection of himself and his life in a metaphorical mirror, and was horrified at what he saw looking back.

When Tony eventually and with reluctance forces himself out into the public, or risk publicly losing face he could not afford at this juncture, Pepper sticks by his side. Tony could not begin to express the gratitude he felt at that show of loyalty after everything in recent months. The situation brought them closer together, and Tony began to notice Pepper in a new light. However, he was far from the collected persona he portrayed to everyone around him. And very far off from seriously considering anything new with anyone, never mind acting on his idle musings on the attractive and fiery woman. Constantly Tony found himself battling the ugly paranoia that reared its head concerning the people around him. Despite his attempts to push the persistent feeling away Tony was all too aware of the truth of the matter. The terrorist group calling itself the Ten Rings had gotten a hold of Tony's weapons somehow, and it certainly wasn't from Tony himself. But that did not mean that someone within his company wasn't dealing under the table behind his back. Someone that knew him well enough to either soothe any suspicions he might have had, or utterly distract him. There were only a small handful of such people.

If there was one person that Tony was instinctively unconcerned about, it was Miss. Pepper Potts. The woman was scary efficient in her own right. She was merciless and vicious in the boardroom, and Lord help anyone that was dumb enough to enter any sort of negotiations with her. But this sort of double dealing wasn't normally on her moral compass. The only other being he trusted without question at this point was Jarvis, whom Tony had built and coded with his own hands. Everyone else fleshy was suspect, which left Tony twitchy even on one of his good days. What Tony feared most coming up in his covert investigations with Jarvis were Stane's and Rhodey's names. Tony was not a religious man by nature, but he found himself praying in the privacy of his own mind that their names aren't flagged in any way.

When Christine Everhart approaches him at a charity function, angry and self-righteous, shoving a news article in his face about Yinsen's home village being annihilated by the Ten Rings using more Stark weaponry, Tony is livid. When Tony learns from Obadiah Stane's own mouth that his long time family friend was the one betraying him Tony finds himself adrift, uncertain how to react at first, beyond his own personal sense of pain, loss, and rage. Quickly though he regains hold of himself and shoves his personal emotions aside. Swiftly leaving the charity event with Pepper in tow, he sets about getting Stane arrested and oust from Stark Industries as fast as possible. Overwhelmed by his swirling mess of emotions, Tony was not in his best frame of mind to deal with the downward spiraling situation at hand.

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The second time Death is summoned to Tony Stark's side after the billionaire was supposed to be safely returned to his home in the States, the being is admittedly a little irritated. Bypassing the technological security systems put in place in the tower without effort, Death appeared in a black curling swirl of foul smelling miasma, an unconscious manifestation of the entity's displeasure. Not that the mortal could even see the spectacle to appreciate it. Looking around the entity frowns at the silence in the workshop it had been summoned too. Seeing no threats, or Stark immediately in view, Death closes her eyes. Reaching within, she uses her power to feel out the room, quickly and easily picking out the mortal's soul signature across the room on the floor behind a metal work table.

Opening black eyes, the being swiftly moves over to the unconscious man, kneeling down to lightly touch Stark's shoulder. Pushing her senses out to evaluate the state of the unconscious mortal. The brunette is still alive, but barely, Stark's heart struggling against whatever strange paralysis holds him. Pushing the man over onto his back Death quickly notices the lack of the arc reactor in the mortal's chest. Gritting her teeth and swearing softly under her breath, Death gathers up power and grabs forcefully onto Tony's soul preventing it from slipping away from the fleshy body. It was already locked into the mortal, but the extra measure made the Primal God feel better.

The rough whir of metal rolling on metal catches the god's attention. Death looks up to see the robot Stark called Dum-E holding out a glass box to the unresponsive man in a rather useless attempt at assistance. Seeing the original arc reactor encased in glass, ironically labeled as Tony's heart, Death swiftly knocks it out of the robot's grasp with a sharp aggressive gesture. The noise of glass shattering caused by her actions captures the attention of the AI, Jarvis. There were no cameras in a position to see her move Stark's body before, but the AI could certainly hear well enough.

"Hello? Is anybody there? How did you get in? I cannot see you, reveal yourself at once!" Death ignores the agitated British voice, knowing the AI system would be a useless distraction at this point.

Tuning out the increasing demanding and aggressive AI along with the distressed beeping of Dum-E, Death picks up the original reactor from the shattered remains of the case. Making sure there is no glass before carefully attaching the wires together and locking the reactor into place with a soft click. The agitated AI system falls silent in the background, as does Dum-E. Tensely Death waits, watching as the lights flicker to life in the reactor after a long moment.

Standing up when Tony begins to stir, Death steps back, slowly releasing her hold on Stark's soul. Watching as the man's blue eyes opened Death fades away, task complete for now. Death would prevent Stark's entrance into her realm as best as it was able. But the entity hopes that Harry returns swiftly, because with Stark's poor luck recently, Death was uncertain she would be able to shield the mortal much longer without it being noticed by Destiny, whose influence around the human was growing stronger every day.

Already this second interference might lead to questions if Stark looked too closely. Or if Jarvis, the AI guardian brings certain inconsistencies to Stark's attention about his miraculous recovery from the brink of destruction. Though Death would not be seen on any camera unless it chose to be, the arc reactor floating in mid-air and reconnecting itself to Stark's chest would likely be alarming. It was a sure bet that the AI recorded the entire encounter from what angles it could. Death was fairly certain nothing of her actions had been seen, but with Stark, you never knew if there was some kind of unseen tech around. Regardless of the poor quality, Jarvis seemed intelligent enough to have done so. Death resigns herself to keeping an even closer eye on the mortal. It would not break this promise to Harry. As Harry's future mate, Stark was not an acceptable loss, for any reason.

Death watched intently as Tony battled the betrayer Stane, hovered close whenever the mortal was in peril, prepared to intervene once more if given no other choice to preserve the human. Stark proved determined and resilient however, despite being out powered by Stane's grotesque version of Stark's suit, both with weaponry and the mini arc reactor running it. Regardless of being outclassed and outmaneuvered time and again, Stark manages to buy enough time for Pepper to blow the larger reactor under their glass rooftop battle ground, defeating Stane and his metal monstrosity.

Afterwards things finally seem to settle down, Destiny's power seems to retreat into background for now, though it does not totally leave. Death finally feels comfortable enough to leave Stark to his own devices to return to her own eternal duties for the time being. Death should have known the relative peace would not last. Stark was forever in trouble it appeared.

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Meeting Phil Coulson, agent extraordinaire of SHIELD is a brief experience that Tony quickly forgets in light of the other events surrounding the large televised press conference where he blatantly reveals himself to be Iron Man. Tony didn't see the need to hide himself behind false cue cards for the likes of Christine Everhart to mock and drag his name through the mud. Tony was rather fed up with both her, and her usually nasty articles. He had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to the Iron Man suit, nor his actions in using it. Tony had saved thousands of lives by getting rid of Stane and his blasphemous version of the suit, whether directly or indirectly. He refused to let the likes of that smug harpy Everhart continue to ride her superior high horse, as though Tony were a dung beetle beneath her tacky faux Gucci heels. Whoever her stylist was needed to be fired, desperately. Those shoes were ugly monstrosities and clashed with the business professional style she was trying to pull off. Pepper wore it a million times better, and with more comfortable ease.

Death takes curious note of the meeting between the two players with deep amusement, pleasantly surprised with the turn of events. Chuckling softly to herself, the being settles in to enjoy what it anticipates to be a entertaining conference. Though to be truthful, Death hadn't been to one yet where Tony didn't make it worth observing. The mortal was fantastic at showmanship if nothing else. Stark knew how to grab attention and keep the audience avidly watching him. She was beginning to understand why Harry was so enraptured with the human the more time the god spent in the genius's presence. On the surface the two seemed to be a poor match. Both headstrong and stubborn, both having widely differing ways of dealing with the world and its problems around them. But Death was beginning to see where one would balance the other man out. Where they would feed into each other, where they would soothe and calm one another as no one else could. Death thought Harry's inner Valkyrie might have chosen very well for itself. Time would reveal all in the end.

Coulson himself is a bit less than enthused about his first encounter with the famed Tony Stark, for various reasons both professional and private. The man's interactions with the very polite and professional Miss. Potts are more in line of what he was expecting from the billionaire. While Coulson found Stark as a human being entertaining and challenging, as a SHIELD agent he found Tony to be a pain in the ass. The man seemed to have a subconscious talent for making things more difficult than they needed to be for the people around him. What was so difficult about reading the perfectly prepared alibi from the cue cards? Apparently everything. Phil was uncertain if Stark's stubborn insistence to make his own statements was just a move to pander to the genius's own ego, if the man simply refused to conform to Fury's wishes, or if the billionaire had other presently unknown motives for his actions. Which ever option it was, Stark had just made life both for himself and SHIELD more difficult and interesting for everyone involved. The Director was not going to be pleased.

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With Stane gone, and Rhodey in the clear for dealing weapons, Tony begins to settle down into his new role as Iron Man. While the public hotly debates from one extreme to another about the suit and Tony's use of it, the billionaire quietly boarded his private plane for a visit to British soil. It was not easy, making sure Pepper stays busy enough to not notice his absence for a week or so. Tony wanted to get out from under all the scrutiny for a while, having unpleasantly realized his taste for being the dramatic center of attention wasn't as fun and fulfilling as it used to be.

He desperately missed Harry. With the other man the world just fell away, stopped at the front door and Tony could relax in a way he'd only ever felt in Harry's presence. He felt regretful that he had not contacted Alice before now. Aside from a phone call to reassure her that he was alive, Tony had not had much time to make arrangements to see Harry since he'd come home from Afghanistan. The Stane situation in California had kept his attention away from where he really wanted to be for too long. Ducking Pepper was a mixture of dodging her constant demands for Stark Industries and being uncomfortable discussing Harry with her.

Tony felt torn about the two of them and was having a hard time dealing with his burgeoning romantic feelings for the woman when his heart still wholly belonged to the emerald eyed man. He floundered emotionally, lost on what to do with the situation. Harry may very well never wake up, was his best friend above all others, the past lonely years aside. Pepper was one of his best friends too, was here and available and able to reciprocate his feelings. He strongly suspected she already did. Logic and loyalty were pulling the man into two very different directions.

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Tony's private plane landed on the Heathrow runway late into the British night, but Alice had thoughtfully sent a town car and driver out to meet him at the airport. He missed much of the drive through London's nightlife because he was busy tapping away on his personalized Stark tech phone that he had created for himself. It had a direct line to everything connected to Jarvis in addition to having all the normal functions of a regular high end cell phone. He could talk to Jarvis, pull up any of his projects, even bring up multiple hologram screens and use Jarvis to remotely hack other electronics with ease. It was his own personal little new toy and he was currently in love with it.

He's brought it along for a reason other than his own personal enjoyment however. Tony had figured out that Alice had cameras watching the room in which Harry was kept. Tony planned on having Jarvis hack into the computer system they were being run on and monitor the other man as well. Tony could not visit as often as he wanted too as it was, and he had a suspicion that he was only going to become more busy with the Iron Man suit and the backlash it was beginning to cause in certain political circles.

Never mind the hell is was dodging the SHIELD agents that popped up absolutely everywhere. Like he wasn't going to notice being followed around all the time by strangers, or that the same faces keep appearing in his peripheral vision. He didn't want those nosy bats anywhere near Harry, that was just too close and too personal. Tony would not tolerate it. So Tony had carefully made sure to lose his babysitters before getting on his flight. Tony smirked to himself as he mentally pictured the fit they would have when they realized he was gone. It wasn't like he didn't have a cover, he went on a personal trip, location undisclosed. He wished them luck in trying to find him when he did not wish to be found. He did know how to lay low, he just rarely felt the need to do so in the past.

Arriving at the Sinclair home, Tony gathered his bags and was quietly let into the house by the driver. Quickly Tony dropped his bags off in the room he used when visiting before, then slipped down the dark hallway to Harry's private room. Now, when everyone was sleeping was the perfect time for Jarvis to work his technological magic, the footage of Tony's interference would easily be erased afterwards. Carefully opening the bedroom door Tony peeked inside, seeing the room is empty he silently slides inside, closing the door behind him as he went. Pulling the chair from the corner over to the bed to sit beside Harry, Tony settles himself down into it and brings up Jarvis on the cell phone. " Alright Jarvis, show Daddy what awesome things you can do."

A heartbeat later a holo screen popped up with coding scrolling across the monitor, showing Tony what Jarvis was doing as the AI went to work. Tony grinned to himself as he watched, immensely pleased. "Jarvis you dirty boy, don't you know it's not nice to flip a girl's skirts? I thought I taught you better."

"The world would be in shambles if I followed your stellar examples on proper behavior, Sir." Jarvies replied scathingly, causing Tony to muffle a bark of laughter in response. "Yea...probably."

Tony falls silent as he turns his attention to watching Harry. With the room nearly dark and the house so quiet, for a few moments Tony could pretending that Harry was just sleeping. The illusion does not last however, when Jarvis interrupts his little fantasy. "Download of program is complete, I can see him through the cameras now."

Tony nods, lightly tapping a couple things on the holo screen and closing it down. "Good Jarvis, just monitor and record for now. I'm going to spend some time with him before going to bed."

"Yes Sir." the AI said, subdued. Putting the phone in his pocket Tony reaches out his hand to gently weave his fingers through Harry's cool ones. In silence he sits beside him for the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep in the chair.

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Alice shook Tony gently awake in the morning offering him breakfast and tea while the nurse does her morning check on Harry. Groggily Tony got to his feet and followed the petite woman downstairs to eat, more interested in the tea than the food, truth be told. But he politely eats what is offered to him without complaint, Alice was one of the few older society woman that Tony enjoyed being around. The woman was intelligent and purposeful rather than gossipy and scheming like many others he had met in the past.

Just as they were finishing their meal, the plates being cleared away, Dr. Blake arrived at the house to speak with Alice concerning her son's prolonged condition. Instead of sending Tony out of the room as a non-family member, she requested he stay, grasping his arm tightly in apprehension. Doctor Blake gently tried to have them sit down as he told them that Harry had not made the progress they had hoped he would. While Harry was not declining in health, he was not likely to wake from his coma any time soon. He had passed the point where his waking up was an realistic hope. Biting a trembling lip as she fought off tears, Alice dug her fingers into Tony's arm, though he felt them only distantly, adrift in his own sense of disbelief and loss. Since Alice seemed unable to respond to the Doctor's words, Tony forces his own feelings aside. "There is nothing that can be done? No drugs or therapies that can wake him?"

Blake shakes his head in regret. "No, there isn't. Harry must wake on his own, or not at all at this point. To try and force him to wake could have severe effects to his mind or physical health. It is possible it would kill him entirely depending on his reactions to the attempts." Despite barely holding herself together Alice politely escorts Doctor Blake to the door when he is ready to leave, swiftly excusing herself go to her room to grieve. Tony is silent throughout it all, unable to force himself to participate further. Deeply numb inside, he slowly gathers himself to his feet and goes to see Harry, not knowing what else to do with himself. He's done in depth research into Harry's doctors and knew Alice was paying for the best available, if Blake said Harry was unlikely to wake, then there was nothing Tony could do about it. No amount of money, or genius could fix this.

Tony stood beside the bed, gazing down at the man he realized he was in love with too late, and felt his heart break completely. There was no coming back from this, there was no miracle recovery, no happily ever after. Harry was forever out of his reach. Tony was too late. Harry would never know how sorry he was about the time spent apart, Harry would never hear his confessions. Harry would never open his eyes.

Blinking rapidly in distress, Tony only then realizes how shallow and rapid his breathing has gotten. Stumbling towards the chair kept in the room for visitors he falls into it, vision fading in and out as he struggles with his panic attack. For a long time Tony cannot seem to get enough air into his lungs, the world felt as if it were falling out from under his feet, though he knew logically that was impossible. He was sitting down, and had not moved. Eventually his ears pick up Jarvis's voice calling to him from the cell phone in his pocket, trying to walk him through the breathing exercises they used when he'd had attacks in the past. Slowly Tony calms his breathing and his heart rate until they are something approaching normal. He lifts his gaze from the floor to Harry once more, shivering from time to time in his seat.

There was no future with Harry. He needed to accept that. He needed to try and move forward despite this devastation. Harry was the last person on earth who would want Tony to stall his life, waiting for something that was a near impossibility. Letting out a long breath Tony gets shakily to his feet, walking back over to the bed and leaning over to kiss Harry lightly on the mouth, then the forehead before pulling away. Again he reminded himself that there was no going forward with Harry at his side, there was only this. Only what was right in front of him.

Tony turns away and leaves the room, unable to accept it just yet, unwilling to let go just now. But he knew, eventually, with a little time and distance, he would learn too.

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Approximately six months later, after his devastating visit to England Tony found himself at opening night of the Stark Expo in Flushings, New York, standing backstage and staring down at a blinking meter that coldly reads - Blood Toxicity nineteen percent. Tony survived his ordeals in Afghanistan, survived Stane's traitorous double dealing and homicidal attempts on his and Pepper's lives. Only for the very thing keeping him alive to turn around and slowly destroy him from the inside out. Palladium poisoning was a slow, ugly way to die if Tony cannot somehow find an alternative. Sighing softly to himself Tony tucked the meter back into his pocket and turned his attention back to his performance for the crowd, ignoring his father's voice droning on in the background as the iconic video clip played.

Years after the man's death and Howard Stark still had Tony grinding his teeth in rage at even the mention of his name. Time had not softened Tony's feelings towards his late father, or his deplorable actions towards his only son. Tony forcefully pushes the wandering thoughts away, refusing to let himself get worked up over it. Straightening his expensive suit and gathering his thoughts, the billionaire prepared himself to wow the thousands gathered for this huge event. Forcing a smile onto his lips, Tony steps back out onto the stage to greet the wild and enthusiastically cheering people.

Death watches silent and invisible from the sidelines, a fierce scowl twisting her pale features. Not at the human Tony Stark in particular, but at the softly glowing device in his chest that was supposed to be the mortal's saving grace, and was now instead slowly poisoning him. Because of this Stark was constantly pinging Death metaphysical radar, and until the situation was somehow fixed, he would continue to do so. Unfortunately Death was at a loss at what to do to remedy the problem, the Death god's healing magic was very basic at best, and the mortal was already doing everything in his considerable power to search out a solution himself. The best Death could do is trail after the mortal and hope something changed for the better, as it was though, Death was worried it will have to confront a very upset Harry upon his return to Earth. Stark's state of health would only deteriorate faster with each use of the Iron Man suit, and the mortal was too stubborn to put the tech aside. Just hovering about watching, being nearly useless, rather pissed the god off. The mortal was constantly a thorn in Death side, this needed to be remedied as swiftly as possible.

As Stark showboats around with the Iron Man suit flouting every rule and regulation as he pleased with Death trailing behind, the god contemplated long and hard about what to do. There were a few options open to the god, but these choices would so fundamentally change who and what Stark was, that Death was not sure if enough of the man would survive for it to have been worth it in the end. It is entirely possible that Tony Stark would cease to exist and something or someone else would have taken his place in the same body. The human that Harry knew and loved would no longer be there. If the mortal man was to be bonded to Harry, a Valkyrie and a God in his own right, Stark could not remain a mere mortal. Changing Stark utterly however, even to save his fragile life was not the answer, Harry would never forgive such a transgression.

Death was aware though, that however reluctant the divine being might be to pursue this path, Harry's happiness was at stake. Valkyrie mated for life, and a life without a mated partner was hell for one of that race. It would be even more so considering Harry was now a Godling, both blessed and cursed with long immortal life span. Death found herself regularly cursing Destiny under her breath. What the hell was the other Primal god trying to accomplish with this newest curveball anyhow? The entire mess left Death uncertain if steps should be taken or not without Harry permission, or the mortal's knowledge. What was Destiny aiming for? Did the Primal god want to corner Death into performing such drastic actions? Or was Death's promise to Harry not accounted for in Destiny's weave, just an outlying factor to a pre-planned fate involving one Tony Stark? Too many questions and not nearly enough answers for Death to be confidant about any move she could make right now. Time was quickly going to run out, Harry was not available to ask and Stark was completely clueless to the hidden movements of other players around him. Still Death is hesitant, stalling the decision as long as possible. Very bad things have happened before because a foolish god messed with a mortal's place in life without proper consent and preparation. Death had learned the hard way with the pitiful, but dangerously mad monster Thanos.

Following Stark around in this frame of time was not always as tedious as it sounded. There were many times Death found the mortal to be highly entertaining, even while simultaneously wanting to strangle him with her own skeletal hands. The conference in Washington D.C. concerning who the Iron Man suit properly belonged to for example, was one of the being's favorite instances. While highly amusing, the man was only causing more future problems for himself with the way he handled speaking to the politicians. There were other times however, that were not amusing in the least, when the entity barely refrained from murdering the cocky mortal herself. Each and every time Stark gave Pepper that look, the one that should have been reserved only for Harry. When Stark had made the woman CEO of Stark Industries, the Death god had had to leave the man's lab before the being did something regrettable that could not be undone, to either one of them.

While Death was willing to admit that Pepper was certainly capable of doing the job position well, the entity was furious at Stark for giving away something so close to his heart to that viper of a female of all people. Once marginally calmed from her fury, Death had to remind herself that Stark had no knowledge of Harry's true state of health, and thus had chosen the next most logical option to continue keeping Stark Industries in good standing. The mortal was being realistic, Stark knew full well the chances of him finding a cure for the Palladium poisoning in his system shrunk everyday. The human was only making sure that his affairs were in the best possible order he could manage with the limited information he had. Pepper was intensely disliked by Death for her actions against Harry, but the woman excelled at her job, and would move the company forward in the direction Stark wanted it to move. It was an intelligent business move on Stark's part, even if Death did not like it personally, and thought Stark was tying up his emotions into it, into her, more than he should be.

Death returned to Stark's side once the god's anger cooled enough to not commit homicide, to find the billionaire boxing his friend and sometimes driver Happy Hogan for sport. Snorting softly in exasperation and settling down to watch the match, the three are shortly interrupted by Pepper with what seemed like an eternal pile of paperwork and a new woman with darker red hair than Pepper's own. Rolling her eyes in mild disgust at Stark's blatant perusal of the admittedly attractive new woman, the god barely resists the impulse to smack the mortal on the back of the head. Interestingly enough, Death watched as the woman noted Stark's interest, and subtly dismissed it. Neither telling the billionaire to back off, or showing any return interest beyond a mild curiosity. Death soon found herself snorting in laughter when the seemingly delicate wisp of a girl took Hogan down in the boxing ring hard like a sack of potatoes without much effort only a few minutes later, not even breaking a sweat on her pretty skin. Death understood Stark's interest and excitement, the woman was interesting. There was something about the new redhead that was familiar, but Death was not interested enough to bother following her around to learn more about her. Keeping an eye on Stark's swiftly declining health took precedence to Death's own idle curiosity.

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By the time they reached Monaco for the Grand Prix, Stark's toxicity levels had reached fifty three percent and the wear was beginning to show in Stark's health and demeanor. Death was growing increasingly concerned about the state of the mortal mental health as well as his physical. The billionaire was beginning to show alarming signs of deep depression in conjunction with suicidal carelessness of his own personal safety. Stark's encounter with the same slimy Justin Hammer from the D.C. conference, with Christine Everhart on his arm sends the man scurrying out of the restaurant. Having missed the conversation between them, Death doesn't know what possesses Stark to displace the professional driver from his sponsored racecar and take the wheel himself, but the entity is livid. Ivan Vanko's appearance on the race track only further enrages, and worries the god. Death was doing the best it could to keep the mortal alive for Harry's return and the stupid human was doing everything to the circumvent the god's attempts short of slicing his own wrists open. Death would never get used to the many ways mortal beings spiralled out of control when faced with irrefutable proof of their own transience.

Death watched, sidelined and helpless as Vanko used his electric whips to slice off the front nose of Stark's car, sending it flying end over end across the Stark survives the car wreck, pulling himself from the debris. With Vanko menacingly advancing on Stark, Death is briefly distracted by the roar of a car engine startlingly close by as a black car bursts through the fence separating racers from the spectators and slams into Vanko. Ramming the heavily tattooed man into another part of the fence and away from the prone form of Stark on the ground. Death darts over to check on their attacker, hoping the man was killed instantly, but unfortunately finding the mortal still alive. Hearing Happy Hogan and a clearly hysterical Pepper arguing with a stubbornly dallying Stark, Death looks over Ivan, spotting what appeared to be a replica arc reactor attached to a chest harness, powering his weapons of choice. Pursing her lips in dismay Death steps back, severely limited in what actions she could take in situations like this. Destiny's magic was heavy and cloying in the air around them, further frustrating the Death God. Already the god was treading a very dangerous line with her protection of Stark. Vanko quickly regains his breath enough after a few moments to begin attacking the car pinning him down. Slicing it slowly into pieces as Pepper uselessly screeches in sheer terror and flails pointlessly around, ignoring a desperate Stark begging her to toss him the suitcase Iron Man suit so he could actually do something. Happy Hogan meanwhile, is dodging Vanko's attacks the best he can with a busted up vehicle, he would not last much longer if something did not change soon.

When Stark finally manages to get a frenzied Pepper's attention long enough to get the armor from her, he immediately puts it on, turning to launch a vicious attack on Vanko. Ignoring the other two mortals as inconsequential, Death sticks close to the combatants, observing closely to be sure Stark came through this battle alive, flinching each time Vanko got a good hit in. When the Russian manages to toss Stark around like a rag-doll, Death prepares herself to step in, hoping an appearance would not cause too much terror in the populace. Fully prepared to accept the consequences such blatant public interference would bring down upon herself. Thankfully interference is not needed, Stark puts Vanko down for the count, crushing the arc reactor powering Vanko's harness in one metal hand, expression thoroughly pissed. The suit is torn up and badly damaged, but Stark is alive and relatively unharmed. Ivan Vanko is dragged away unresisting by the local police to be incarcerated, laughing his ass off like a lunatic.

Later, after being patched by the medic and cleaned up, Stark goes to visit Vanko where he was being held by the French Police. There, they learn of Anton Vanko, and Tony's father Howard's involvement with the Russian man so long ago in their effort to create the original, larger version, of the arc reactor. Rather put off by the Russian's demeanor, and uneasy with the man's knowledge of the Palladium poisoning him, Tony leaves, making a mental note to look further into the insane man's claims.

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Unbeknownst to Tony, while he was trying to talk Pepper into vacationing with him somewhere around the world, Ivan Vanko was broken out of prison by Stark's long time business rival Justin Hammer. The Hammer Tech CEO was seeking to use the Russian criminal's knowledge and hatred of Tony to utterly embarrass the billionaire at the year long Stark Expo. The man had some pathetic wet dream of being able to knock Tony Stark from his dominant place in the business world and placing himself there instead. Convincing Ivan Vanko seemed easy enough to Justin, not realizing just how dangerous the calculating man in his company was, or understanding how intelligent Ivan was under his rough exterior. Intelligent enough to play Justin Hammer for the fool he truly was, and use the CEO of Hammer Tech for his own personal vendetta against the famous Man of Iron. It would take time for his plans to bloom into fruition, and Ivan would need to keep Justin Hammer oblivious to his machinations, but that was easy enough. Hammer was blind to anything aside from his own personal ambitions and delusions of grandeur for the time being.

Back in Malibu California Tony was busy looking up this Anton Vanko who was supposed to have dealings with the late Howard Stark. To Tony's dismay, Jarvis find ample proof that Anton Vanko did in fact at one point work with his father, and was deported because of suspicions of selling classified information to the Soviets. Rhodey interrupts his dark thoughts on the matter when he enters the lab, trying to coax Tony into going upstairs and handling the rapidly escalating situation involving his Iron Man tech and the military government. Stark says nothing at first, letting Rhodey vent his frustrations before turning to just look at him in exhaustion. Quickly picking up on the fact that Tony is not acting like himself, Rhodey asks him if he is alright. Clumsily Tony gets up from his seat and stumbles over to one of the tables with Rhodey's help, proceeding to switch out the corroded Palladium core in his chest reactor with a new one. Casually playing off Rhodey's horror at the state of the removed Palladium piece, until Rhodey asks about the dark lines on tony's neck. Swiftly changing the subject, not wanting to elaborate, and knowing that Rhodey would draw his own conclusions anyhow Tony asks about something that has been on his mind for a while now. "Do you think we would have made it this far?"

James blinks, pulled from his thoughts on the questionable marks on Tony's neck "Who?"

"Harry and I. If things had worked out..would we have made it you think?" Tony's turns to regard Rhodey curiously, a faint smile touching his lips.

James crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back against the desk as he considered the questions seriously for a few moments "I don't know, I would like to think so. Many things would have been different over the years though, if Harry had been here. I don't think you would be where you are now. But who knows, maybe things would be the same. He always was right beside you getting into just as much trouble before. Why do you ask?"

Stark leans back in his chair, blue eyes staring off into the distance, as though looking at something Rhodey cannot see. "I miss him Rhodey. That fight was so stupid, it didn't really matter in the long run. I don't know why I never called him, I should have. Now he's gone. They said he isn't going to wake up, did you know?" He refocuses his gaze back on his friend.

Slowly Rhodey nods, brown eyes sad. "Yea...Alice told me when I went to see him. I'm sorry Tony."

Dismissively Tony waves him off. Not wanting Rhodey to see just how deeply upset he was about the entire situation. "It doesn't matter I guess. I don't think either of us is going to be around as long as we thought we were."

Rhodes straightens immediately, frowning in alarm at the words. "What are you saying Tony?"

Tony shakes his head, flashing him a dim parody of his usual cocky smile, "Nothing...I'm just in a terrible mood. Harry's gone, Pepper is pissed at me, you're pissed at me. That psycho tried to kill me, and the government is contemplating storming my house. It's been a shitty few days Rhodey." He finishes tiredly.

Unwilling to let up now that he suspects there is more to Tony's actions and motivations of late, Rhodey pursues the question again. "There's more you're not telling me isn't there?"

"Nothing that matters." Tony tries to reassure his long time friend, with limited results.

"Why don't I believe you?" Rhodes responds with a tired sigh, reluctantly letting go of the matter only because James knew he would not be able to drag more out of Tony unless the other man was willing to let it be done.

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The next time Tony sees Rhodey is at Stark's disaster of a birthday party. Encouraged by the sneaky Miss Rushman to do as he wished, Stark got thoroughly drunk and took the Iron Man suit out to play, much to the delight of his party goers. Death wanted to dropped the red headed minx off a high mountain for her careless words. Unfortunately, Tony's reckless actions only further pissed Pepper and Rhodey off. Eventually sparking a down and dirty physical fight between himself and Rhodey in a second suit the man snagged from the lab, that nearly destroyed the entirety on the Malibu mansion. By the time they were done, it was a miracle the house did not fall down around their ears. Rhodey left with the second Iron Man suit, and Tony was left with a killer hangover.

The next morning, as Tony was slowly working his way through a box of donuts, he was met by Nick Fury. After reluctantly coming down from his perch to meet with the one eyed man, Tony learns that Miss Natalie Rushman is in fact Natasha Romanoff, a SHIELD shadow that was assigned to keep an eye on him. After a less than pleasant conversation about Tony's father and Howard's past history with SHIELD and the arc reactor, Fury leaves Tony in Phil Coulson's capable hands to work on finding out what it was he was missing in his research for a Palladium replacement. With a few well placed threats involving a taser and Supernanny from Coulson, Stark gets down to business going through the cases of his father's things that Fury had left behind in the house for him. Finding nothing to help him in his search he starts playing the old videos, on the off chance some information was recorded instead of written down. What he finds instead is a half assed recording of his father calling Tony is greatest creation, which does little beyond piss him off further with the dead man.

Fed up with being cooped up, Tony slips his guards and goes to visit Pepper in the office, buying a box of strawberries along the way, having a vague recollection of her mentioning them at one point in a conversation. They were her favorite, or something? He didn't really remember, but hey, what woman doesn't like strawberries? They were romantic! Apparently Pepper, who turns out to be deathly allergic to them and still deeply angry with him. He tries to tell her about the state of his health, and explain some of his outlandish actions of late, but he stumbles over his words repeatedly. Until Pepper cuts him off completely in her impatience and tells him to leave. Too angry with the man for the time being to see his distress as anything other than more attempts at excuses to pass off responsibility for his behavior, she storms out of the office to continue her work cleaning up Tony's most recent media nightmare. Frustrated, Tony throws away the strawberries as he heads out the door only to pause when he catches sight of the model to one side. Tilting his head at it curiously he frowns, then blue eyes widen as his mind sparks with an idea. Grabbing the pieces of the model he tucks it into his car, taking it back to the Malibu mansion for a closer look with Jarvis. After picking it to pieces layer by layer, he discovers what it was Howard was hiding. A new element. One that would completely supersede Palladium.

Excited by the possibilities Tony quickly goes about ripping apart the remains of the house to make room for himself to properly synthesize this new element for his arc reactor. Coulson briefly stepping into the lab at one point to let Tony know that he was leaving for New Mexico for a while, some incident there pulling him away from keeping an eye on Stark. Once the pieces were put together, and Tony was sure the specifications were correct, he had Jarvis light it up.

Death, seeing this as a likely last opportunity gathered her own power to combine with that of this new element Stark was creating. When the bright blue laser hit the triangular piece of metal Stark was charging, Death reached out to place her own hand on the piece, letting loose her own power into the new core. This reactor would not fail Stark, the god would make sure of it, with this new element able to boost Death own power in combination with it, the god could heal the damage already done to Stark's body by the Palladium and perhaps more. Playing with unrestrained, unfocused power had a way of forging its own path, but perhaps this was what exactly was needed in the long run. It was not long thereafter Stark had a glowing new core for the reactor.

Just in time, somehow Ivan Vanko had gotten a hold of Tony's private phone number and placed a call to the billionaire to call him out at the Stark Expo. If Tony did not show up, Ivan was going to attack the helpless innocent people there instead. Swiftly making up his mind despite Jarvis' protests about untested tech, Tony dons the Iron Man suit once more, flying out with intent to stop his new threat. Landing on the Expo stage in the middle of Justin Hammer's presentation, Stark attempts to warn Rhodey, but in his lingering anger with Tony, the man does not listen until it is too late. Within just a few seconds the second Iron Man suit, and the drones littering the stage have been remotely taken over by Vanko through the installed Hammer tech. Targeting Tony, Rhodey manages to get out a warning in time for Iron Man to lead the hostiles drones outside, away from the civilians. The battle is long and hard, but with Natasha's help from the Hammer building they manage to get the suit back under Rhodey's control just in time to finish the battle with the drones side by side. When Vanko shows up in his own version of the suit, the two quickly find themselves to be over matched. In a last ditch effort on both their parts, they each aim a repulsor blast at one another, releasing the pulse simultaneously, violently blasting the three over them away from one another. Tony and Rhodey are battered, but alive, while Vanko, taking the brunt of the blast in the face and chest is down for the count.

Taking a breath, thinking the battle done, Tony barely refrains from swearing when all the downed drone light up with a red blinking light, beeping in a countdown fashion that immediate puts Tony on edge. Thinking swiftly, his first thought is of Pepper, knowing she is likely somewhere involved in the management or cleanup of this mess and thus directly in harm's way. Quickly taking to the air, he has Jarvis pinpoint her for him before swooping down to pluck her from the pavement just as the drones begin exploding everywhere, dropping the both of them safely on top of a building a safe distance from the explosions. Pepper, terrified and still angry begins yelling at Tony, threatening to quit. Seeing no other way to silence her, and since he can seem to get himself to speak to the woman to properly express himself, Tony just leans over to kiss her. It worked rather well in shutting her up, but Tony finds as he pulls away, that while he enjoyed the kiss, and wanted another one, a large part of him felt like he was betraying Harry. Tony pushes the feeling away firmly. Reminding himself sternly that he was not betraying anyone, he hadn't been with Harry in years, and was never going to be again. So the feeling was completely ridiculous. Thankfully, Rhodey broke the moment before it could get any more Twilight Zone-Esque for Tony.

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A couple of months after the spectacular events of the Stark Expo in New York, things have settled into relative peace in Tony's life. Rhodey and Tony were on good speaking terms again, though they still did not get to see one another as often as they would have liked. The relationship between Pepper and Tony was slowly but steadily growing, and the arc reactor was no longer poisoning him. With the new Arc technology he had a new and very profitable venture in the clean energy race.

The only rainy cloud on the horizon were Tony's visits to Harry's side. Uncertain as to why, he kept them quiet from Pepper for as long as he could, somehow feeling that they were too private to share with her. So he made excuses to be out from under her radar for long enough to visit whenever he could. Being the intelligent man he was, and knowing how intelligent Pepper herself was, Tony knew it was only a matter of time before his trips to England were discovered. Rhodey constantly told him he was stupid for hiding them from the woman, but Tony could not shake the feeling that he was on the verge of losing Harry forever, and it made him cling even tighter to what he did have, for as long as he could. It did not make logical sense, and he couldn't properly articulate it in a way Rhodey nor Pepper would understand or accept as sane, so he kept it to himself.

Tony was uncertain if Pepper knew that Harry was in a coma, the two had never really been close, having met only a few times back in college. But how did one ask the currently girlfriend if she kept tabs on his ex-boyfriend anyhow? He could not recall if she had even known he and Harry had been dating, they had kept things pretty much to themselves. Partly because of Tony constantly being in the media, partly because of the harassment on campus involving other more open students, and partly because neither felt it was anyone else's business. Before Tony could figure out a solution, it all came to a head one morning, whether he was ready for it too or not.

Right in the middle of a cozy breakfast with Pepper, his cell rang; being busy right that moment making them breakfast shakes to go with the eggs and toast Pepper had made, the redheaded woman picked up the phone instead of Tony. Frowning at the unknown number, because she had made herself very aware of every single one on Tony's contacts, she answers with a cautiously questioning tone. "Hello? Pepper Potts speaking, who is this?"

There was a pause on the other end, as though the other person were surprised to hear her voice. Finally after a moment, when Pepper was just starting to get annoyed, a feminine British voice spoke hesitantly in return. "Hello...is Tony there? May I speak with him, it's very important."

Instantly the accent has the hairs on the back of Pepper's neck standing on end in a mixture of shock, disbelief, anger and jealousy. A flood of thoughts rushed frantically through her head as a pit of dread opened up in her belly. How dare Tony cheat on her? What was with him and Brits anyhow? Who was this woman and where did he meet her? How many other women was he keeping secret from her? She was so stupid to really trust him to be faithful to her, she should have known better. His reputation spoke for itself after all, but she had hoped that once Harry was out of the way Tony would settle down with her for good. Apparently not, if this stupid tramp had his personal cell phone number.

Shooting a curious Tony an inquiring look under her lashes, she answers cooly. "May I have your name please? And what is this in regards to?" Tony frowns at Pepper's unpleasant tone, turning off the blender to better hear her, wondering who could be calling him that would elicit such a reaction from her. He makes a motion with his hand to catch her attention, gesturing to the phone and giving her a curious look. Pepper huffs at him in accusatory displeasure, confusing the man more.

There was only a pause before the British woman on the other end responded to Pepper's less than friendly disposition. Her previously hesitant tone taking on an authoritative razor's edge that made Pepper hard pressed to repress an instinctive flinch in reaction, like a scolded child. "Look young lady, I don't know who think you are, nor do I care, but you will give the phone to Anthony right now. Alice Sinclair is calling to speak with him and it's very important! It's a family matter that is none of your concern! Now put him on the phone!"

Pepper sits up ramrod straight in her chair, bristling in shocked rage. "Sinclair? " Hearing Tony's sharply in drawn breath she shoots the man a purely venomous look and thrusts out the phone into his face with hostility as she got to her feet. "Here, you can talk to that Sinclair woman! I'm getting dressed!"

Hastily Tony scrambles to catch the phone before it falls to the floor, bringing it up to his ear as he watches Pepper storm away in a fit unlike anything he's ever seen her do. "Uh...hello Alice? " He offers, voice a mix of hesitation and bewilderment. Torn between finding out what Alice was calling him for, because she normally didn't and chasing down Pepper to figure out what in the world had set her off. An aggravated huff on the other end of the line makes him wince, distantly he can hear Pepper slamming what he thought was the bathroom door loudly.

Alice's voice, when she spoke, brought to Tony's mind a picture of the woman glaring at him in disappointment. "Please tell me you are not stupid enough to be dating whoever that green eyed monster is, Tony darling."

"Uhm?" He offers in response, not wanting to lie to the older woman he respected so much, but uncomfortable with the question considering his and Harry's past history.

Alice lets loose a long suffering sigh to his non-answer. "Men.." She muttered in open annoyance. "I had hoped you would not be as completely clueless as the rest of them." Tony is silent shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, not knowing what to say to that. Her voice lightens some, as though sensing Tony's unease. " Relax Tony, breathe child. While I think that woman is a poor choice on your part I'm not upset about you dating. I don't expect you to stop living...and I know Harry would not want you to stop your life and wait on him either. So take that worry out of your head right now darling."

Slowly much of the tension bleeds out of Tony's posture, he walks over to the counter to lean against it. "Alice, you know I always love talking to you, but you don't normally call. Is everything alright?"

"No...I'm sorry, no Tony. I-" Her voice wavered and broke, making Tony's guts clench in fear. Minding instantly flying to the possibility that Harry had died in the night. The green eyed man was a healthy as could be expected given his condition, but it was always a possibility. Tony gripped the phone tighter in his hand as she cleared her throat and continued. "I need you to come out to England for a while. Jasper passed away about an hour ago and I- I couldn't think of anyone else to call. Neither him nor I have any living family left, no one close…" Alice trailed off, losing her train of thought in her nearly overwhelming grief.

Tony lets out a tense breath, relaxing his grip on the phone some as he rubs his eyes with his other hand. "Of course Alice. I'm sorry he passed, what happened?"

"It-it's alright. It wasn't such as shock as Harry. Jasper has always had heart trouble, since he was little. It ran in the family, you see. He had a heart attack at work, they rushed him to Hospital of course...but he passed on before they got there. I hate to ask this of you Tony but I...I would really like to not be alone right now. Is it possible…?"

Tony glances up as Pepper stalks back into the kitchen, fully dressed and still apparently angry with him. She stops by the doorway, lips tightly pinched together in displeasure as she gives him a hard stare down at finding him still on the phone instead of chasing after her. Tony frowns at her, finding her expression and attitude intensely unattractive at the moment and turns his body pointedly away from her as he answers Alice. "Yes of course. I'll see what I can do, I don't think I have anything that can't be rescheduled for the next couple of weeks if that is what you need."

Tony was rapidly approaching the edge of irritated himself at her deplorable behavior. Really, she was starting to embarrass him, thank god Alice couldn't see or hear Pepper at this point. He blatantly ignores Pepper's indignant noise of disbelief behind him, concentrating on the other woman speaking into his ear. "I don't think arrangements will take that long, Jasper and I wrote our wishes down years ago with our lawyers. I just need to contact them after I hang up with you and everything will be set into motion. You shouldn't need to take off a couple of weeks dear … just maybe four or five days? I'm not certain yet."

Tony runs a hand through his hair, making it stuck up as he thought quickly. Pepper would not be happy, but this was more important. "Well it really doesn't matter Alice, I'll take the week off and we'll see what happens from there, okay? I can head out there tonight, I don't think I can realistically manage sooner than that, I'm sorry. Will you be alright for the next 12 hours or so? "

It wasn't much, but Alice seemed calmer, a little bit of relief and happiness showing in her voice. "Oh yes, thank you darling! You're so sweet. I'll be alright for now, don't worry. I have to wait for the Hospital to release Jasper's body, and speak with the lawyers, that will take up some time. I should be able to keep myself busy until you arrive. Albert, the driver that picked you up before? I'll have him will pick you up at Heathrow if you like and bring you to the house. Just let me know before you land. "

"Alright, I will. See you soon Alice. Goodbye." Pulling the cell phone away from his ear after her returned farewell, Tony ended the call, turning around to finally face Pepper. She opens her mouth, most likely prepared to tear into him, but Tony isn't in the mood to indulge her temper and cuts her off sharply. "No. I don't want to hear it. Be angry all you like. I'm clearing my schedule for the rest of this week and the weekend. There is nothing on it that is do or die for me or Stark Industries."

He brushes past her as her mouth audibly snaps shut, her eyes wide in surprise at his tone. Lately Tony had not been this assertive with her, letting her have her say in most everything. She represses a growl of annoyance as she watches him go into the bedroom, presumably to get dressed. Whoever this Alice Sinclair was, Pepper didn't like her. Didn't like the effect this woman had on Tony or his attitude. Like Hell Tony was going to England to see her, but for the moment Pepper could see that Tony was not going to listen to her. She would have to wait and try again later today. This trip to England was _**not**_ going to happen, period.


	12. Beneath Still Waters

_A/N: Warnings for language and junk science. I know zip about computer coding._

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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Despite Pepper's vehement protests to the contrary, Tony does in fact clear his schedule, resulting in the normally collected woman retreating into a dark cloud of silent, icy fury. Outwardly, she remained prim and professional, but Tony was well familiar after several years spent working together, of her small tells. She clicked her heels more loudly for one, and her posture was absolutely rigid. Where normally she would refill his coffee, whether he asked her to or not, she now completely ignored the cup. Not that Tony was inclined to ask her for anything at the moment that didn't strictly have to do with work. He might end up with a pen in his eye for the trouble. While the mental image amused him privately, he wasn't stupid enough to snicker at it. She was volatile and waiting for an excuse to vent her temper at Tony. Luckily, it would be some hours before she would get a chance.

The woman was nothing if not seriously professional, so she would force herself to wait until there was no chance of a client seeing Pepper raise her voice, or any of her co-workers. Normally, Tony found her fiery nature immensely attractive. Her eyes would spark, she would lift her chin almost defiantly. Sometimes, if she was particularly annoyed, a light flush would touch her cheeks. She was beautiful. But today, Tony couldn't find that beauty he normally admired. Today, her eyes pierced his skin harshly, her radiant energy was off-putting. Tony found himself keeping an eye on her from his peripheral vision, an echo of the paranoia from Afghanistan rising in the back of his mind. Logically he knew it was completely unfair and ridiculous, but he couldn't shake it off. Pepper seemed to take his observation of her as Tony's typical ogling, and scowled at him in displeasure whenever she could. He fought not to roll his eyes more than once, his own anger on the back burner on a low simmer.

Tony found he wasn't bothered as much as he should have been by her cold shoulder. Instead he was simply fed up with her actions and attitude throughout the morning. Tony concentrates on the client meetings for the new arc reactor tech and ignores her outside of what was required of him in a business capacity. It doesn't take her long to pick up on this fact, and it seemed to only infuriate her further. Resulting in a highly tense atmosphere for hours, which accumulated into a terrific migraine for Tony, and uneasy clients.

 _Which I just know she blames me for._ He grumbles mentally to himself, actually preferring to shuffle through the paperwork on his desk rather than interact with his girlfriend at this point.

Tony knew, any attempt at conversation at all would erupt into a nasty argument. He could feel the feral heat of her glaring blue eyes on his skin, and wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully, it appeared that as long as Tony kept himself concentrating on the mountain of paperwork in front of him, she seemed inclined to silence. It was as the pile began to thin down to only a handful that Tony began to worry how he was going to dodge the continuation of their previous argument. Luckily, the Stark good fortune held true even now. Glancing up as his office door opened, Tony felt an involuntary smile stretch across his lips.

 _Dodged another bullet, for now._

Rhodey had dropped by for a surprise lunch, bringing offerings of hot grinders and a request for repairs to the War Machine suit that he still firmly refused to return to Tony. There really wasn't much that needed repairing on the suit, but after the Hammer Tech disaster, neither man was comfortable with anyone else tinkering around with War Machine for any reason. Which was just another ego boost or Tony anyway, and a sanctioned excuse for the both of them to see one another a little more often than previously. At this point, the return of the second suit was only a running joke between the two friends. Tony knowing full well that the military would have Rhodey's hide if he did try to return it.

Taking the lunch offerings they all move from Tony's office to the private elevator that takes them up to the the restricted floors in which Tony's penthouse resides. Beyond a warmly polite greeting to Rhodey when he first arrived, and a thank you for the grinder, Pepper is silent on the ride up to the penthouse. Tony is intensely aware of this, but chooses to ignore her. She just stands back and watches Rhodey and him sniping back and forth at each other. So far, Rhodey did not seem to notice her lackluster participation, or if he did, wasn't making comment on it. Reaching their destination, the three barely settled down on the plush furniture of the living room for their meal when Pepper reaches the end of her tolerance for silence and Tony's childish ignoring of her temper.

Just as Tony is about to take a generous bite of the awesome smelling sausage and peppers grinder Rhodey brought to him, he holds back a groan of annoyance. Pepper clears her throat to interrupt the good natured snark flying back and forth between the two men. She waits until she has Rhodey's attention centered on her before speaking. Pretending she does not see Tony roll his eyes at her, and then take a large bite of his grinder just to spite her. "So, Tony is leaving for England tonight, to go see a woman named Alice Sinclair."

Rhodey's eyebrow skyrockets in an instant, shooting an incredulous, quick glance to Tony that is full of silent indecipherable conversation she does not comprehend. The fact that neither man even attempts to hide the secret exchange from her, and doesn't bother to enlighten her either, pisses Pepper off further. Even more so when Tony waves dismissively with a rolling shrug of one shoulder and lifting of a single eyebrow in return to Rhodey's mute questioning. Still ignoring Pepper completely as he inhaled another bite of his meal, to show her being upset did not matter.

She purses her lips for a second before speaking up again, ignoring the fact she was interrupting again, wanting the attention back on the issue at hand. "Do you know who this woman is James? Is she Harold's sister? His cousin? Do you know anything about her?"

Her frustration rises as James shoots Tony another glance, as though asking the man's permission to speak. Though in reality, Rhodey just didn't want to touch this particular conversation with a ten mile pole. He was aware that Tony didn't speak to Pepper about Harry at all, so he was uncertain how to answer the woman, or even if he should.

She sets her grinder down on the coffee table, crossing her arms over her chest, oblivious to the fact it made her look like an angry child. "Tony refuses to talk to me about it!" She huffs in irritation, barely holding onto her temper by a thread.

At this point Tony jumps into the conversation before Rhodey can open his mouth to speak. Tony turns his body slightly in her direction to face her, refusing to let Rhodey get dragged into this stupid fight between them. This entire situation was getting well out of hand, and he was a little ticked Pepper thought she could try and turn Rhodey against him in this.

 _Just what the hell was her problem?_

"I refused, because you are being completely absurd about it! It was a blasted phone call! It's not like you found a playboy model in my closet for God's sake!"

Her face flushes brightly, reddening in livid anger as her voice drops into a low hiss. "Oh, so my feelings are absurd? You're running off to cheat on me with some English tart related to Harry, and I'm the one being absurd? What the hell is wrong with you? How dare -" She scowls as she is rudely interrupted by the billionaire raising his voice before she can really get going.

Tony drops his sandwich on to the table and jolts up to his feet, cutting off her next words with a sharp gesture of his hand. Well and truly angry himself now, despite his attempts all day long to ignore it and let it blow over. "Cheat on you? Why the hell would I do that? Why would I have a reason to? That you would even consider that is insulting! When have I ever given you reason to think that I would cheat on you Pepper?"

He turns to fully face her, blue eyes hard and glaring.

"I might be a lot of things Pepper, but I've never cheated! I didn't want to talk about it because you made a jealous ass out of yourself on the phone with a woman old enough to be my mother! Hell I grew up with her! She may as well be my Aunt! I can't believe you right now! Her husband just died and she wanted me to attend the services for the next few days! And here you are acting like a spoiled petulant child. Do you have any idea how much you _**embarrassed**_ me when you spoke to her like that?" Tony moves away from his seat, unable to contain the anger he had been suppressing all day. Missing the way Rhodey's eyes were getting wider with every word.

"I should not have to explain myself to you! You are not my _**mother**_ and you sure as hell aren't my **_wife_**. You do not dictate who I speak to, where I go, or who I go to see. I have not wronged you in any way so you can take that attitude of yours and-"

" _ **TONY!**_ " Rhodey shouts, breaking into the billionaire's rant, as he rose swiftly from his seat. Well aware of where the other man's words would take him if he was angry enough, and how much he would regret it later.

Pepper sat still like a statue on the love seat, pale and trembling. Blue eyes wide and damp with tears. Never in all the time she has known him, has Tony ever raised his voice to her like this. Of course they'd had heated arguments, what couple didn't? And of course they had argued over the years about work related things. But never had Tony ever spoken to her like this, and she didn't know how to respond to it.

Rhodey grabs Tony firmly by the arm and pulls him away into the penthouse kitchen with the intent of keeping Tony there until he cools down enough to not end up regretting what comes out of his mouth. He knew full well Tony would never forgive himself if he trashed another relationship because of losing his temper and saying something that couldn't be taken back. He waits patiently as Tony forcefully takes deep breaths in an effort to rein himself in.

"You good yet?" Rhodey asks softly when Tony simply stands in the middle of the kitchen, breathing and glaring down at the counter for several minutes.

Without a word Tony suddenly shakes Rhodey off his arm with a harsh gesture, stalking out of the kitchen and down the hall into the bedroom. Rhodey watches him go with a small sigh, before turning and going back into the living room to deal with a no doubt put out Pepper.

 _Why am I always stuck in the middle of Tony's relationship mess? It isn't t like **I'm** fucking Tony for Christ's sake._ He mentally grumbles to himself as he went. The grinders lay forgotten on the table, and Pepper is standing by one of the huge windows overlooking New York. He notes with a grimace that she is wiping dampness out of her eyes as discreetly as she can. _Wonderful._

Stepping closer he lightly touches her arm. "Pepper?" He inquires softly.

She gives him a shaky smile, turning from the window to face him. "I'm alright Rhodey, and I'm sorry that you were here for all of this. It wasn't my intention to drag you in the middle of it. I just wanted some answers, and Tony was just...so...closed off from me. I should know better than to accuse him of cheating, but sometimes, I really wonder if he is happy with just me. If I'm interesting enough for him. I'm smart, but not his level of smart. I don't like to party like he does, and...so many other little things."

Her eyes drop down to the carpet as she speaks, and Rhodey shifts uncomfortably on his feet. He didn't dislike Pepper, but neither did he trust her after the shit she had pulled in college, sabotaging Harry and Tony's relationship. It was something he would never forgive her for, but she was still Tony's friend, and now his girlfriend. Plus, over the years he was forced to accept that she wasn't perfect, far from it, but neither was she evil. "You're right. You shouldn't have accused him of cheating. It was completely uncalled for, and you should know Tony better than that. Try talking to him about your insecurities instead of bottling them up and letting them drive you into paranoid circles."

She nods her head, subdued, all the fight seems to have left her for the moment. Sighing softly she lifts her head again. "I didn't know that Tony was close to anyone in the Sinclair family aside from Harold. I just assumed that Alice was...someone else."

Rhodey frowns at her and drops his hand from her arm. "Alice is Harry's mother, Tony grew up with her being around quite a lot. His mother and Alice were friends for a long time. Not that any of that makes a difference in how you treated the situation. You either trust Tony, or you don't Pepper. I suggest you figure that out soon."

She bites her bottom lip and nods. "I deserve that. You're right, there is no relationship if there isn't trust." She steps back from him. "Thank you for lunch Rhodey, but I think I'm going to go. Will you tell Tony that I will speak with him when he gets back to the states?" She smiles faintly to his nod, and quickly gathers her coat, heading out the door.

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After shutting the door behind him for some much needed privacy Tony furiously paces the room, seeking any release he could find for his pent up negative energy. His thoughts whirl in a chaotic mess of disbelief and anger, unable to hold together one thought for more than a few seconds, his logical mind overwhelmed by his emotions. Eventually his steps slow as his hostility burns off, then finally stop as he drops down carelessly on the messy bed with a long tired sigh. The same bed that he and Pepper had shared that same morning. He didn't know if they would share it again tonight. He didn't know if he wanted to right now. He rests head in his hands for a moment, tightly yanking on the brunette locks, before lifting it back up, and speaking quietly out into the open air.

"Jarvis, bring up the cameras on Harry." What he needed to do was stop thinking for a while, and the only way he could think to that right now, was to occupy his mind with Harry.

Without a word from the AI, various holo screens pop up in front of Tony, showing him Harry's room in real time. Nothing seemed to have changed, and no one was currently visiting. Harry lay there still and peaceful, his soft breathing the only movement in the room. The soft occasional beeps of the medical machines were both reassuring and grating on his already raw nerves. For several minutes Tony just watches Harry, thinking of nothing in particular. Slowly Tony breathes in, and just as slowly lets it out. Already he could feel the tension in his muscles loosening, feel the anger drifting away. Letting himself settle softly back into a calm state. Idly Tony wonders why just seeing the other man has this effect on him, no matter the situation, just knowing Harry was there settled him like nothing else. Tony pushes the thought away, not wanting to drag up past history on top of everything else he was having to deal with today. After a while he speaks again, eyes never leaving the screens in front of him, his voice still soft. "Any notable changes Jarvis, to Harry or anyone else that came into the room?"

The AI's equally soft, regretful voice answers back. "No Sir, no changes since the time my software was installed that are not already expected with his state of health. He has lost another pound and a half, his hair has grown another two inches, but no alarming changes have been noted. Not with Harry at least. However, there was an attempt some days ago to remotely hack into the camera system. The attempt was poorly executed and failed, but I traced it back to SHIELD."

Tony blinks in startlement, his peaceful trance broken, baffled on why the shady spy organization would be interested in Harry. A cold shiver of unease curls in the pit of Tony's stomach at the notion of SHIELD anywhere near the vulnerable brunette. The very idea of it chases away what little calm he had managed to return to himself. _What the hell were you doing Harry, to capture the attention of those angry birds?_ "SHIELD? Why didn't you notify me earlier? What do they want with him?"

Tony's mind raced with the possibilities. The Sinclairs were heavily involved in various types of genetic research, which brought to mind all sorts of nasty avenues of suspicion. It was the only thing Tony could think of that SHIELD would be interested in looking into. Unless something had drastically changed while Harry and he were apart these last years. Which was possible, but Tony refused to believe it. He refused to seriously consider Harry or Jasper as potential mad scientists playing with that sort of monster producing hell. Both men were entirely too honorable, and sane, for that sort of tampering. But he could easily see Harry being nosy enough to stumble across something he shouldn't have. If someone within the company were doing things to draw SHIELD's attention, that would make far more sense than Harry or the late Jasper being mixed up in whatever it was. It made Tony wonder if the break in at Harry's home hadn't been much more than it first appeared.

 _Who the hell fights a burglar and goes flying down a flight of stairs? Harry has never been a combatant, what the hell possessed the man to attack his intruder? And why was nothing logged missing from the house?_

The senseless accident that placed Harry into a coma had always bothered Tony, it niggled the back of his mind relentlessly now and then. The local police had little to no information aside from a broken window, the mess in the house and Harry himself. Nothing new had been found, even after all this time had passed. The ease of which the intruder simply disappeared into thin air, as if he had never existed in the first place. Sticking around only long enough for the police to see him and then...nothing.

For years of investigation, nothing more had come to light. Frustrating Tony and crushing the hopes of Harry's family. Tony would know if there was anything new right away, he's used Jarvis to hunt down every scrap of information he could find about the incident and encountered only an eventual dead end. It frustrated him to no end, and now with SHIELD's interest, the whole situation smelled of badly rotten fish. Before he could speculate further, Jarvis' sarcastic comment pulls him from his train of thought.

"I was under the impression you wished me to be discreet concerning Miss Potts on this subject. Since she has hardly left your side these last few days, I have not had an opportunity to inform you Sir." The AI responds dryly.

 _Ah yes, that._ Tony mentally smacks himself. He couldn't believe he had forgotten that he had put Jarvis on gag orders concerning Harry when Pepper was around his person unless it was a life or death emergency, or an Iron Man emergency. However unlikely he had thought that idea to be at the time.

Tony takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly as he considers why SHIELD would have an interest in the other man, when Harry's been in a coma for the last two years. _Why choose now to attempt hacking into the camera system?_ If they are interested in the British man, he would not surprised if Agents haven't already been planted in the company itself, or the medical staff attending to Harry.

This could only mean that he has no idea if this sudden interest was because of Tony's frequent visits to the other's bed side. That was also a distinct possibility, making Tony clench his jaw in discomfort. If Fury ever got the idea he could use Harry as some sort of leverage against Tony, or Iron Man, he was unfortunately correct. Though it would be the last time Iron Man had anything to do with the spy organization, and Tony was blunt enough by now concerning Harry that he was able to admit to the idea of raining Hell down on SHIELD if they ever tried. "Alright, you traced it to SHIELD. You're already in their system, were you able to find out what they're looking for?"

Jarvis hesitates, then answers in a reluctant and frustrated tone. "Not as of yet, Sir. They are looking at the companies owned by the Sinclair family, but the files I have found list no specific reason. They are in fact, very sparse. I suspect there are more files hidden from me that I have not found as of yet, perhaps under a heading I am not familiar with. I will continue searching as best I can without alerting them."

Tony nods absently, busy chewing on the newest puzzle. "Alright, I want you to hunt down anything you can. I want background information on everyone who enters Harry's room. I want to know which ones are SHIELD's monkeys. Do the same with SynTech Research and Gemini BioTech, they both belong to the Sinclairs. Dig up any other hidden companies if they are there. Find these SHIELD rats, I want them gone. And I want to know what SHIELD is looking for."

"Yes Sir. All information will go directly to your personal phone as soon as I find anything. It will be coded and voice password protected. Ms. Potts will not be able to open the files if she should happen to pick up your cell phone." There is a short pause before the AI inquires softly. "Sir...what shall I do if I do find unsavory information involving the Sinclairs?"

For a long moment Tony doesn't answer, just staring at the image of Harry on the holo screen floating before him. Finally he whispers to Jarvis. "Show it to me...and then bury it in the deepest darkest hole you can find so SHIELD can't get a sniff of it. Buff up all of their security that you can hack into Jarvis...I want their systems to be as nasty as the ones in the Stark Tower to unauthorized outsiders. Make sure our signature is nowhere near it, keep an eye out out for anything that is not kosher."

The AI offers a gentle subdued affirmative, well aware of the implications of Tony's orders to him, and of the value of the comatose individual on the holo screen to Tony.

"Good boy Jarvis…" Tony responds absently, "And good idea sending a coded message to my phone so Pepper doesn't get wind of it. She seems to have lost her mind recently."

"I doubt that very much, Sir." Sarcasm oozed through the bedroom air.

Tony smiled briefly in amusement, pleased with how developed Jarvis was in responding to human speech appropriately. Privately marveling at the ease of which the AI changed the heavy subject. "Well you saw her, she's never been like that. Never been the insanely jealous type. What's gotten into her? And over Alice of all people."

"I cannot say Sir. Ms. Potts is a woman after all, and I have noted that jealousy seems to be a common trait in female personality. Perhaps you simply did not notice before."

Tony frowns, considering. "I dunno...maybe…Is the plane prepped for later?" He sure as hell would have noticed if Pepper displayed that sort of behavior before, Tony was sure of it.

 _Had she been holding herself back before? When she did not have a real claim to his time and attention aside from work?_

He could not recall. Hopefully this was a one time event and she would let her insecurities go. Tony Stark never has been, and never will be, a cheater. He didn't believe in it. If he was going to subject himself to that sort of commitment he was going to do it right. No matter how badly it chafed. It was one of the very few things his father Howard had done right. The man had been an asshole, but he'd never betrayed his wife. It was one thing Tony had grudging respect for.

"Yes Sir, the staff and pilot have been informed and are on standby for when you are ready to leave this evening at four p.m. Your estimated time of arrival, barring any delays, should be about midnight."

Humming in acknowledgement Tony briefly wondered why Harry never pushed for a closed relationship. Harry never spoke a word about it. Tony somehow slid into monogamy all on his own, without realizing it until much later. He reflected, with a touch of melancholy amusement, that such an unconscious commitment to Harry had not chafed then as it did now in a different relationship, and wondered why. He reluctantly pushed the thought away. It was not fair to compare anyone to Harry. Being with Harry had been easy, as natural as breathing. Tony hadn't found anyone else that came close. He was still holding out hope that things with Pepper would settle into the same rhythm given some time.

"Perfect. Close the screens on Harry, I'll be seeing him soon enough." They blinked out of existence instantly, leaving him alone in the dim room. Still uneasy Tony gathers himself to his feet, much calmer now, and goes back into the living room to bite the bullet with Pepper.

Instead he finds Rhodey watching TV quietly, Pepper was no where in sight. He sits down on the couch next to his friend, the older man informs him that Pepper went home to her own apartment for the time being and she would call him when he returned from England. Tony just nods, too tired with the whole mess to pursue the matter further at this point in time. They both needed a little bit of space, they would talk when they had both fully calmed down. That arrangement was fine with Tony, his mind was occupied elsewhere anyhow.

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The flight to England was peaceful and quiet. His plane landed without incident, and the driver provided by Alice was there to take him to the Sinclair's home promptly. Setting his bags in his usual room Tony only spends a couple hours speaking softly with Harry before retiring for the night, wanting to be awake for Alice in the morning as much as possible. His sleep is far from restful but he manages a few hours before he rises for the day. Showering and dressing quickly, Tony heads downstairs to join Alice for breakfast, knowing the older woman has always been a morning bird, and is likely to be awake with the sun. He finds her sipping tea in the sunroom instead of the dining room. Tony lightly knocks on the door frame to alert her to his presence.

Alice turns her head away from the window and smiles softly at the sleep ruffled young man. Silently she gestures him to the seat across from her and does not speak until he has settled himself, pushing a plate with muffins towards him. "Good morning Tony dear. No problems with your flight last night?"

Happily grabbing a blueberry muffin and some butter, Tony sets about preparing it as he shakes his head in response to her inquiry. "No. Smooth flight, no delays or issues, came in late, went to see Harry for a little bit and then went to sleep. I wish I could have gotten here sooner but some of my meetings could not be rescheduled. I moved everything I could."

"And your girlfriend?" Alice asks, bringing her teacup to her lips, taking a sip as she nudges the pot closer to Tony's reach in encouragement.

Wrinkling his nose a little Tony makes himself a cup, knowing better than to ask this woman for coffee. "Mad as a hornet and not speaking to me at the moment. I think she's more embarrassed than anything else at this point."

Alice offers only a deeply unimpressed hum in return, pretending not to see Tony's wince at the noise, then changes the subject. "I'm glad you got here in one piece. I have the lawyers coming by in a few hours to speak with me about Jasper's arrangements, and his Will. I'm not sure what to do with Syntech. It's supposed to go to Harry, but...well...he's unavailable at this point, and I have no idea how to work in their fields. Harry has wonderful Board Staff however, and I was wondering if they might take over Syntech as well..but I'm unsure how something like this would work. Especially considering Syntech has it own Board members."

She sets the teacup down on the table in front of her, setting her hands in her lap. Tony picks at his muffin while listening, wondering where she was going with this conversation. While Tony had bypassed his father Howard once Stark Industries was in his hands, Tony had help from Stane and Pepper along the way when it came to dealing with lawyers, paperwork and media.

"I was hoping you would sit in with the lawyers and I to help me figure out what to do with the company. Without Harry being able to take it over it comes to me, and I refuse to let the Board members run it. All they do is squabble, Jasper complained about them constantly. Unfortunately, Jasper wasn't much of an office type man, so much of that part fell to them to handle while he did is work afield or in his lab." Tony frowns a little, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, to be honest Alice, I'm not much better than Jasper in that department, but I'm here and I'll do what I can. Usually Pepper handles the legal department for Stark Industries. I might be able to toss a couple ideas in there, but I don't know anything about British laws."

Alice reaches over to lightly pat his hand. "That's alright Tony...I don't expect miracles, and Jasper was always very good about keeping this sort of paperwork updated. I thought it was rather morbid, but...obviously he knew what he was doing." They fall into comfortable silence after that, finishing their light breakfast before moving into Jasper's office to begin sorting through the piles of paperwork until the lawyers arrive later.

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Dealing with the lawyers turns out to be surprisingly easy. Jasper had indeed kept up with all the paperwork, and had already solved the problem of Alice handling a company she knew little about. Since neither Jasper nor his wife Alice had any close living family aside from Harry, Syntech Research still went to him. However since Harry himself was currently unable to run Syntech, Jasper had included a clause that enabled Gemini's board members to act in his stead. Whether Syntech liked it or not. Tony had a sneaking suspicion the Syntech board was going to be gutted and replaced with Gemini employees, like the company had already done dozens of times with the other smaller companies they had bought out over the years.

It was close to dinner time when Alice, Tony and the lawyers finally finished signing all of the paperwork. When the lawyers left, Tony and Alice settled into a quiet evening, both glad that task was out of the way. While growing up Tony was not close to the senior Sinclairs as he is now after Harry's accident. He was not as close to Jasper as he was to Alice before the man's death, but regardless, he was saddened by the loss of the other. To keep Alice distracted from her thoughts of losing her husband, Tony regales her with amusing stories of his and Harry's time when they attended University. Enjoying the woman's soft laughter, and light scolding at some of the situations both boys found themselves in.

While talking with Alice, Tony discreetly kept a sharp eye on the staff as he tries to sniff out a SHIELD operative. Unfortunately, no one seemed out of place or suspicious to him. They were all familiar faces that he has spoken to at various times. It did nothing to reassure him that Harry was safe, but he kept reminding himself that Jarvis would have warned him immediately if Harry was in danger.

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Later that night after Alice went to bed for the night, Tony went in to visit with Harry. He looked over the information that Jarvis dug up thus far. Checking into the medical was easy, Jarvis did a very good job detailing the information. Dr. Blake and the current nursing staff got the all, clear there are no red flags or concerns. Frowning, Tony noticed that a couple of the nurses from when Harry had first come home had been swiftly replaced, all within a three day span. Nearly all of the nurses, actually. It made him wonder why, and murmurs for Jarvis to dig a little deeper into that one if the AI could. So far, nothing new had come up telling him why SHIELD was looking into Harry, but Tony wasn't worried. Jarvis had a lot to search through between the three of them and it had only been a few hours. He did discover however, that Syntech was woefully easy for Jarvis to get into, and SHIELD was already there with its own monitoring system. Jarvis swiftly isolated the program and set up a worthless look-a-like before destroying the SHIELD version. The Spy organization would get no new useful information, but the monitoring program would appear to still be working as it was supposed too.

Initially, when the AI looked into Harry's company it seemed to have a decent level of protection on the systems and files. Enough to keep SHIELD out, but not an intelligent AI system like Jarvis. When Jarvis tries looking deeper into Gemini, the AI encountered something both fascinating and troubling. Under the coding keeping SHIELD out is another layer of protective computer coding that instantly captures their full attention. The company was very well protected, Jarvis couldn't make heads or tails of the coding that they were seeing. Its symbols were so foreign that few were recognizable as anything Tony had seen before. Staring at the handheld screen Tony's eyes greedily devoured the scrolling code and symbols, trying to understand what it was he was seeing and being at a complete loss. Tony's first thought was that it was some kind of encryption, but it wasn't anything he had heard of before now, and so set Jarvis to trying to break it. Grinning to himself in amusement, Tony raises his eyes to Harry.

"What in the world are you doing, Love?" he murmurs softly, equally impressed and increasingly more alarmed by the minute as to Harry's, or his company's activities.

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When Tony lays down that night his mind is restless and unable to settle. Rolling all the information he learned in the last forty eight hours loops around in his head. Whatever it was Harry had gotten himself into, Tony is bound and determined to keep him as invisible as possible from SHIELD. Right at the moment Jarvis was the best resource at his disposal, aside from the Iron Man suit. Tony's willing to offer any help he can to figure out if an operative within Gemini tried to kill Harry. Until then, Tony will keep SHIELD as far away as he can until Tony knows what was going on. Just as Tony begins to slip into sleep despite his whirling thoughts and many plans, Jarvis' voice sounds in the dark bedroom. Jolting him instantly awake.

"Sir! I believe I have discovered why it is that I cannot find any useful information concerning Gemini, or Harry on SHIELD's systems."

Tony rubs his eyes briefly as he sits up and grabs for the phone where Jarvis was speaking from, the electronic closest to his head. "Yea? What is it?"

"I have found several ghost files that seemed like they were dead ends, however. Taking into consideration Gemini's double layer of coding I took these ghost files apart. Initially I didn't find anything. I stumbled across my find quite by accident. If you take the ghost files apart in a specific order, it uncovers several files under the same encryption as Gemini BioTech."

For a few moments Tony is silent as he takes in the new information, then snorts softly. "Just who the hell does Harry have doing his programming? Jarvis, the coding in SHIELD, does it come from an outside source?"

"No sir, it does not appear so. The coding was input into the system by someone physically there, not remotely. It was either done by manually inputting the code on premise, or previously written and uploaded from a plugged in device. In either case, it appears to be completely invisible to SHIELD's own protection systems."

Completely unable to help himself Tony breaks into thoroughly amused snickering. "That's brilliant! A spy program uploaded by a hidden spy within a spy organization! That has Harry's name written all over it. He would enjoy fucking with someone like that!"

He grins into the darkness, heart thumping wildly. "I think I just fell in love all over again Jarvis…"

"Indeed, sir." The AI drawls dryly.

Tony flops back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling while still chuckling. "Amazing...how the hell does Harry know how to do all this? I know for a fact he didn't go to school for it. He has to have people. A spy within SHIELD? That takes talent, serious talent." Tony trails off into his thoughts, musing on the years the two of them had spent apart and wondering what else he would find as he kept digging. Again his thoughts are interrupted by the AI, though he was nowhere near sleep by then, and would unlikely to be for the rest of the night.

"Sir...I found another file. Under a folder separate from Harry or Gemini…" The AI noticeably hesitates. Tony arches an eyebrow in impatience. "Well?"

"It seems an Agent Barton was one of the Agents sent into Gemini to try getting close to Harry. Natasha Romanoff as well, but this Agent Barton appears to have been successful where she was not. He was unable to gain much, but what he did is...alarming."

"Just tell me Jarvis…" Tony whispers softly, wondering if this was the time he found something out about Harry's activities. _And how in the hell did Romanoff fail at getting to Harry in the first place? She sure as hell managed to get into Stark Industries easily enough without detection._

"Barton states in his report that Harold Sinclair is a mutant." Despite laying flat on the bed, Tony feels the floor fall out from under him, making him dizzy.

His voice is guttural and harsh as he viciously demands, "How the _**fuck**_ did he find that out Jarvis?"

His mind flashes to years ago, to the intimate nights he and Harry shared between the sheets. A red haze begins to settle in his mind. If this Agent Barton had put a hand on Harry, seduced him and then betrayed him, all on Fury's orders? Tony was going to find some way of killing the bastards, consequences be damned.

Unaware of his creator's murderous contemplations, Jarvis continues. "It says only that Barton saw his eyes while in the lobby of the London building. They were decidedly not human, and that he suspects Gemini employees know of his mutant status and are shielding him from anyone human. Investigations into various Gemini employees indicate that SHIELD thinks many of them are mutants. That Harry is surrounding himself with them. However, there is conflicting data. It would appear that SHIELD agents were able to procure DNA samples from Harry shortly after his accident. The Agents involved managed to get a blood sample to be tested for the X-gene. Harry has tested negative. Also, the Agents reported that Barton's description of Harry's eyes do not match what they saw while examining Harry after the accident."

"To what purpose? And what do you mean he tested negative?" _What did Harry's eyes have to do with anything? Did he gain mutant more abilities over the years we have been apart?_

Without Tony having to ask, a holo screen popped up from his phone, showing him an image of Harry's new eyes. They are certainly pretty, but they certainly did not match the eyes of Harry in his current state. Something is definitely wrong here, unless Harry's eyes shifted. This was a new, smaller puzzle to work out, because SHIELD agents weren't often wrong about things like this. It could mean lives lost if little details proved to be important later. Tony looks his fill at the two toned eyes, then gestures for the screen the close. It immediately blinks out and an image of Barton pops up instead. A soft beep on his phone indicated Jarvis had sent the man's file to it for Tony to read later. Tony purses his lips in displeasure, taking in the Agent's appearance so he would recognize him later if he needed to. Glaring at the image he waves his hand again and this screen also blinks out, darkening the room once more.

"It would seem that in this file there is only rumor and speculation, nothing concrete. Gemini is suspected of genetic experimentation on humans, as well as bio-manufacture of various drugs, and smuggling. The whereabouts of these drugs are currently unknown. SHIELD is uncertain whether or not these drugs are bio-weapons or something else completely. Hence the reason they are trying to get their hands on them. It notes here that their information sources suddenly dried up, disappeared, roughly around the same time. There has been relatively little information after that. None of their undercover Agents have been able to infiltrate Gemini since then, until Agent Barton. Even then, he was only able to get into the front lobby for two hours, under intense supervision for an interview that obviously fell through. He did not get any further."

Tony's breath stutters and stops in his lungs, before letting it out slowly in a long hiss as his mind reels in shock. While he was glad Barton hadn't gotten as close to Harry as Tony had, this information was possibly worse.

"Genetic experimentation, bio-weapons, drugs manufacture and black market smuggling. What the fuck are you doing Harry?" Tony murmurs to himself as he bites his lower lip, forced now into considering the ugly possibilities lying before him.

He didn't want to acknowledge them, but his conscious wouldn't let him ignore it now. "How long have they been looking into Harry, Jarvis?"

"It appears from the current information that SHIELD has been watching Harry since before he graduated MIT."

Tony closes his eyes in pain, not knowing how to feel about that beyond a deep dread. His mind flashing back brutally to their argument so many years ago. Harry had told Tony that not everything he had to consider centered around Tony.

 _Was this what Harry meant? Was this why he came back home? Did Harry want to walk away, but could not at the time?_

Taking a breath, Tony forces himself to ask the questions anyway, no matter his reluctance to now hear the answers. "For the same reasons? Syntech as well?" Going back to his conversation with Jarvis.

"No sir. Syntech seems to be exactly as it appears, though it is under watch. They were watching your Harry initially because of his chosen majors at MIT, and his accelerated schooling. Possibly as a recruitment consideration. There is no mention of you anywhere, sir. Apparently they were not looking very hard at him at that point in time. Shortly after Gemini was up and running however, Harry was red-flagged, and any information coming out of the Gemini company suddenly stopped. SHIELD appears to be scrambling for scraps of information ever since."

"Well shit." Jasper hadn't been involved, not in any way that Jarvis or SHIELD could perceive. Which meant that this was all on Harry, or someone within Gemini that Tony wasn't yet seeing.

"What do you wish me to do with this information sir? SHIELD is already well aware of it."

Tony sighs softly, opening his eyes again the stare up at the ceiling, considering his options. There was only really one option that Tony could accept at this point in time. His hand clutches tightly about the cell phone as he answers. His voice tight with tension. "Nothing can be done about that, they would notice if something happened to it. They won't let it go until they have confirmation one way or the other on what he is doing. Just keep looking for now Jarvis, keep an eye on Harry's hidden spy, see if we can figure it out. The only thing we can really do is try and cover Gemini's ass as much as possible from now on."

"Sir..." Jarvis was obviously hesitant, and the knowledge of it made Tony grin. It wasn't a happy one. If SHIELD ever uncovered his involvement in this. Well. That meeting with Fury will be very unpleasant.

"Are you certain that you should -" No. No he really wasn't. But this was Harry, and Tony was finding out tonight that he would do damned near anything to protect him. Even if it meant turning his back on everything that Iron Man stood for. Gently, Tony cut the AI off before he could finish his sentence, there was no going back on this. He had to protect Harry, until he knew for sure what was going on at the very minimum.

"Just do it Jarvis...Harry isn't awake to make the choices right now and someone is still running his company for the last two years. So either they are running these operations for Harry, or they removed Harry from the equation to do it themselves. Whatever the case may be, until I can find out, we cover Harry, understand?" He set the cell phone back down on the nightstand, staring up into the darkness.

"Perfectly sir." Jarvis fell silent afterwards, but Tony lay awake for a long time, only drifting off when exhaustion would not permit him to do otherwise.

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The next few days pass as peacefully as one can expect when attending funeral services. The service was tastefully done, short and sweet, with a decent amount of people, mostly friends and co-workers. People were kind and sympathetic, but Tony noticed while watching Alice that the woman seemed rather detached from the events around her, only showing calm politeness to her guests. Alice holds herself together remarkably well in public, waiting until she and Tony returned home and were behind closed doors to display her deep grief. Alice was fairly quiet and not much interested in conversation on those two days, not that Tony blamed her.

She spent hours after each service privately with Harry, and Tony wasn't callous enough to have Jarvis play any feedback on the intensely private moments. He fully understood the bittersweet mix of pain and reassurance just being near the other man held. A lot of the recent information about Harry occupied Tony's mind much of the last days. He was trying to convince himself that he would wait and see what Jarvis dragged up before taking any actions, but Tony knew the truth deep down. Whatever Harry had done, whatever he was involved in, Tony was going to end up right there beside him. If the other man would allow it. If it wasn't Harry, well then. If he was certain these actions were being taken against Harry's wishes, then Tony would do everything in his power to oust these people from Gemini.

He and Pepper still have not spoken to each other, and truth be told, he didn't want to talk to her while he was still here with Alice. He was still reeling from his newest discoveries involving Harry. Aside from a brief conversation with Rhodey, just to touch base, his cell phone had been silent. To be fair, Tony made no effort to call her either, aside from a brief text message when he arrived letting her know he landed safely. She did not send a response back. Part of Tony wants to keep his relationship with the Sinclairs, specifically Harry, separate, even if the idea was completely unrealistic. Frankly, he was just tired of fighting with the woman lately. Jarvis still continued to dig for information, but nothing new or relevant has come to light. Tony couldn't say he was surprised. Whatever coding Harry is using will not be a simple matter to get past, but Tony was confident he and Jarvis will figure it out given enough time. Harry wasn't going anywhere, and Gemini thus far did not seem inclined to invoke havoc and mayhem, so for now, they had time.

Tony stayed with Alice for three extra days after the funeral to help her settle any lingering loose threads, and to be there for emotional support. While normally such drama would send Tony fleeing in the opposite direction, this was Alice, Harry's mother. And he considered her the closest thing he had left to family, he could suck up his discomfort for this particular woman. But Tony found the situation wasn't uncomfortable in the least.

One day, when Tony wandered into the sitting room where Alice was currently residing with with her eternal tea set, Tony realized how large, empty and silent the house was. He paused in the doorway, just watching the woman gaze out the window, book forgotten in her lap, oblivious to his observations. He noticed that she seemed tired, which wasn't surprising, but he began to notice her age. While Alice was in good health, her years were beginning to show in the soft wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Her skin wasn't as youthful as he remembered it being and the sun was now catching thin streaks of grey in her hair. Tony realized that Alice couldn't stay here like this, caring for Harry by herself, and slipping away from the world without notice. Now that Jasper was gone, Harry was Alice's only connection to her old family life. Tony found his mouth moving before his brain had caught up to the words coming from it.

"Alice…" He calls softly from the doorway, watching as her head turns. She gives him a sad, but soft smile.

"Yes, Tony darling?"

He leans against the door frame. "Come back to New York with me? You don't have to stay in the city if you don't want to. We can find something out in the suburbs where it's quieter if you like. It will make it easier for me to visit you, or you to come visit me, and you won't be alone. I can make sure Harry has the best care there like he does here. I can take care of all of the arrangements if you'd like me to. Just say you won't stay here by yourself?"

She seems genuinely surprised by the request, as surprised as Tony that the request came from his mouth in the first place. Now that he threw it out there, he has no intentions of rescinding the offer. Having the both Harry and Alice closer will make Tony feel better. For long moments Alice does not speak, instead frowning lightly at the table top, her index finger lightly tapping as she considers the offer. While she thought about it Tony walks further into the room, sitting on the armchair next to her, remaining silent. Finally she looks up at him again, hesitation clear in her eyes.

"Everything for Harry can be moved? It won't hurt him?" Her voice is soft, and cautious, as she slowly warms up to the idea. Mind dancing over the possibilities.

Tony blinks, and slowly shakes his head. "I don't think moving Harry will hurt him, but we can speak with Dr. Blake about it first of course, and have his medical team there with him when we do move him."

"There will be no need to worry about the companies, since the Board of Trustees now has that responsibility." She murmurs mostly to herself as she looks around the sitting room with a considering eye. "It will take time to move everything. I don't want to sell the house. I want to give it to Harry later."

Tony nods, leaning back in his chair to get more comfortable, he is very fairly certain now she would take him up on his offer and run with it. "Of course. I'll hire professional movers, we can use my plane for everything once it's packed if you like? Picking out the place you want will come first, after speaking with Dr. Blake and making sure it is safe for us to move Harry in the first place. It will take time for everything to get done, but I'm glad you're at least open to the idea."

She smiles at him again. "I love this house and all the years of memories my family and I created in it, but those memories are too heavy for me right now. I think a change of surroundings will be good for me. It will give me something new to learn, new people, new sights. It will distract me. I think I will take you up on your offer Tony, so long as Dr. Blake says Harry can be moved safely." She turns suddenly to give him a sharp look. "However, young man. I will use my own means to accomplish this. I'm not a helpless old biddy yet Tony Stark, don't you dare think me one!"

Tony grins, snorting softly in amusement. " Never."


	13. A Liquid Mind Experience

_**A/N:** Warnings for language, angst and lots of feels! Most of this chapter takes place within Harry's mind._

 _Also, this is the last chapter I will be posting for a little while. I am taking a break to step back from Stranger for a short time. **THIS STORY IS NOT ABANDONED!** I know you have heard this before from other writers._

 _However I am doing this because I need to do some work on plot line advancement among other things for it. Unfortunately for various reasons I have not been able to lately. I refuse to post chapters I am not satisfied with or I feel have been rushed. Therefore, I am pausing for the moment to regather myself for this piece._

I'm sorry for the disappointment, and the wait. Hopefully you will all remain with me and have patience while I work all this out. Much love to you all!

 _Thoughts in Italics_

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Slowly, Harry becomes aware of the darkness around him. He isn't sure what exactly alerted him to the change in his surroundings, but whatever it was firmly and gently pulled his consciousness from deep sleep. Leaving him in a place void of color and shapes. Floating in a black void once again, like he had between his first life and this Valkyrie one. A feeling of fear overtakes Harry as he wonders if he somehow died while in Cryo, as his inner paranoia had whispered he would.

As Harry fights his rising distress, he looks around frantically, but starts to settle as he realizes that there are no stars. The darkness feels very different from his previous experience. It is vastly warmer for one, and the space he is occupying feels much smaller. Harry is unsure how he comes to realize this information, considering he can see absolutely nothing. However, the notion is doing wonders for calming him down. This wasn't the same place. He wasn't dead again. So then, that begs the question of where exactly he was. Stretching out his senses, Harry finds he cannot pinpoint anything directly, much to his frustration.

As Harry starts to becomes used to this strange sense of limbo, he notices a presence watching him intently. The sensation of eyes doesn't trigger any alarms within him. However, he remains vigilant as he attempts to speak into the darkness that surrounds him. Lips part, and as his throat works, no sound leaves his mouth. Frowning in consternation he senses the other being's amusement and mentally huffs to himself, startled when the sound echoes loudly around him. "Okay then, apparently that is the way to speak, rather than vocally." He thinks to himself, unsurprised this time to have the thought echo around him again, as though he had spoken aloud.

A soft but definitely feminine chuckle floats lightly through the air around him. It's not a voice that he recognizes, and the realization instantly puts him on edge. It's not Death, as Harry half suspected. "Who are you?" Harry demands, wincing a bit in embarrassment when his 'voice' comes out sounding more like a nervous and petulant child, than the commanding tone he had anticipated. The voice of his invisible watcher laughs at him again, not in a cruel manner, but like Harry did something genuinely funny. It was far from reassuring.

"Peace, my Prince, I mean you no harm. It has simply been a long time since I was permitted to connect this closely with one in my care. I have missed the connection." Harry blinks, confused by the words for a few moments before he feels like smacking himself in the head for his obliviousness. "Lotus."

The presence seems to smile at him. "Yes young Prince, I am Lotus. I apologize if I have frightened you, it was not my intention." Harry shakes his head, waving a hand dismissively at the darkness. While he was still a little uncomfortable, now that he knew it was the computer speaking to him, his fears of being dead were alleviated. "Are the lessons Kiran programmed going to start now?"

Lotus hums in a soft considering tone. "In a way, my Prince. I have already begun while you were in deep sleep. I have reviewed your memories of what Kiran has already taught you. I have also examined the memories of your life thus far to better determine the best way to teach you, and what you may need more in depth knowledge of."

Harry blinks, unhappy on several levels with this information. He didn't like that Lotus was in his mind in the first place. Now to learn that the computer had been here for a while without Harry noticing, pawing through his memories while he was completely unaware? Unacceptable. Creepy. Harry remained silent, at a loss of how to respond.

Lotus speaks up again, seeming to understand that Harry wasn't going to say anything. "You are the most interesting Valkyrie I have ever had the pleasure to know, Prince Harry. Your lives have been...amazing, for many reasons. I am honored to know such a being as yourself. It has been a very long time since any of the Valkyrie have encountered one of the Primal Gods."

Harry frowns in mild confusion. "Primal Gods?" He questions softly.

"Yes, my Prince. Death is one of the Primal Gods of Creation. There are others, of course, but Death is one of the most well known ones. There are different types of Gods that span many of the universes. Primals are of the Highest Order, they are vital to the existence of all life. Death, Destiny, Time and Magic are the only ones that have been confirmed in Valkyrie histories as Primal Beings. Your Wizarding World's Merlin, for example, I suspect was either an Avatar of Magic, or the God in human form. The names of the others are currently in question. The Lesser Orders of Gods are more well known. Such as the God of Olympus, the Roman Gods, and the Asgardians, to name a few you would recognize. Earth has been a playground for many of these beings for a very long time. However, aside from the questionable events around Merlin, I have never known the Primals to take an interest in a specific being before. Usually they are concerned about much larger scale events. It makes me wonder what role you will play in things to come, my Prince. Death specifically intervened with you. I am unsure what that would make you, considering she has in a way, recreated you. From the memories of your encounters, I have gathered that the entity views you in a rather, maternal light. What that means for you, or your people, I am unable to conclude." The green eyed Valkyrie lets out a long, slow breath. Absorbing the new information, though having little idea what to do with it.

After what feels like a few minutes of silence, he sets the information aside to re-examine a little later. "I'll have more questions about that later, Lotus. For now, let's focus on the lessons? Where are we going to start?"

Harry glanced around curiously as he notices the darkness begin to lift, revealing a lush, room that resembles a library. A cosy fireplace sits in the center of the room, with overstuffed furniture, rows of books lining every available space he could see, and two large office desks made of an unfamiliar heavy wood. "For now, we begin here, in a setting that will help ease you into our lessons. Are you comfortable with this image?"

Harry bites his lower lip in thought as he carefully examines the room, then nods his head. "Yes, it looks very realistic. I can even smell the wood in the fire, the book pages, and feel the floor under my feet."

Lotus hums softly in approval, tone of voice switching from pleasantly bubbly to a more serious note. "Very well, then this is the setting we will use. It is not real of course, only a place I have projected to engage your senses. You are very sense oriented, as well as hands on, visual and intuitive. These are the main tools I will be using to teach you. Some lessons will be simple, downloaded straight into your subconscious. While other lessons will be slower, because I will present them here, in this dreamscape. There will be times where your mind will require rest, and we will not have lessons. You will slip into R.E.M normally and dream as you regularly would."

Harry nods to show that he understood, though he was curious what Lotus meant about downloading information into his subconscious. For the moment, however, he held his questions, sensing there was more to come. He moves over to one of the plush armchairs and sits down gingerly. Half afraid it was going to vanish under his arse like one of the Weasley twins pranks. It remained surprisingly solid and comfortable, however, despite his uncertainty. "How is it that everything in here seems so real to me?"

"I'm manipulating the sensory receptors in your brain. Creating the false impression that what is around you is real. Consciously you are aware that it is not, but your senses believe otherwise."

Harry sighs in a mix of pleasure and resignation. "Lovely, because that ability is not ominous as fuck."

Laughter drifts through the air around him as Harry wriggles around to get more comfortable in the armchair. "Yes, I suppose the possible applications of such an ability, with access to a being's mind would present a wide chance for tampering or interference in the natural functions of that being's perception of reality, and the possible manipulation of both memories and personality."

Harry frowns at the empty air, deeply disturbed by the blatant confirmation of his paranoia. "See? When you say things like that, it really doesn't make me at all okay with this arrangement Kiran and you have set up."

The AI's soft laughter sounds again as Harry watches a book slide off one of the shelves and float over to him. Reaching out he plucks it from the air, setting it down in his lap and looking at the cover. It's plain brown leather with bright gold lettering in the Valkyrie Sigil script. "You are quite safe my Prince. I'm not inclined to tamper with you in such a way. Even if I was, my protocols would not allow me such liberties. However, even if they were not in place, you are sufficiently powerful enough that such a manipulation would not hold for long. Your magic would assert itself and undo whatever was done."

Only mildly reassured, Harry chooses to change the subject instead of pursuing it further. No answer Lotus could give him would make Harry comfortable with another being having such free access to his mind. He would just have to trust that Kiran knew what the hell he was doing and go from there. He gestures to the leather book in his lap. "What are we starting with?"

Lotus's tone smoothly shifts into a more mellow timbre as she pliantly follows the transition in topic. "We are going to begin with a more realistic account of mating and bonding. While Kiran has covered the basics, he is unmated himself, and unfortunately has little known experience on the subject he was attempting to impart to you. Basically he romanticized it. I do not fault him because he was rather limited in materials available to him at the time of the lesson, and it would seem from your recollections of the lessons, both of you found the subject highly uncomfortable. As such, only the barest information was covered."

Embarrassment floods Harry, and his cheeks warm as they blush bright red listening to Lotus' ease on such an uncomfortable subject. Lotus continues on, seemingly oblivious to Harry's discomfort. "I have also determined from your memories that this lesson is long overdue, and extremely vital. You need to know this information now, you should have known it years ago."

Harry drops in head into his hands with a groan at the AI's scathing tone. "Why is it so bloody important? I'm not interested in mating with anyone at this point, and besides. I'm still very young to have met my mate yet."

Lotus snorts in derision. "With all due respect my Prince, the ignorance falling out of your mouth is the reason why this lesson is so urgently necessary."

Raising his head, Harry tilts it in surprise, uncertain how to respond to that for a few moments. Before he can put together a comment however, the AI continued. "Typically a Valkyrie does not meet their mate right away, that is true. But there are many documented cases to the contrary. Though it is obvious you have not realized this. You are such a case; you have meet your mate, and you have been intimate with your mate. The problem is that these events happened before you reached your maturity, and therefore you did not recognize who he is."

Harry draws in a sharp breath, disbelief coloring his sharp words. "Tony, you're talking about Tony. How do you figure that self-centered prig is my mate?!"

Lotus sighs heavily in irritation. "Your actions towards one another are obvious enough, even if you are stubbornly refusing to acknowledge this fact. However, the beginnings of the bond between you two have already begun Even then, when you were still physically and magically immature, and should not have been able to do so."

His brow furrows in discontent. Harry opens the book and carelessly flips through the pages. Not truly seeing what was written in front of him. Agitation clouds his eyes at her suggestion that Tony is his mate. "Wouldn't I have known if such a bond had formed? Shouldn't I have been able to feel it somehow? Tony and I have been apart from one another for years. Why have I not felt the effects of this so called bond if he is my mate?"

"As I stated my Prince, it is only the barest of threads that has formed. It has no negative impact to your lives thus far. The bond is too new and fragile for any of the normal systems to have alerted you to their presence. There is no question on the matter, however, Tony Stark is your mate. You will be able to bond with no other, unless you are one of the rare few that has two mates, forming a Triad Bond. There is no way to tell if someone has two mates, before you ask. It simply happens sometimes. Your people have yet to be able to explain the phenomenon. My point, is this that something must be done about this. You must be educated properly about all of it, and it is much more complicated than the human approach you are used to. Because your mate is a human, you will likely have it harder because you must find a way to blend the two cultures. To satisfy the courting needs of you both."

Harry sighs in defeat, and just nods his head. Mind swirling with a mixture of bittersweet memories, and his rising anxiety on the dilemma of how he was suppose to patch things between himself and the other man. It was very apparent from generous media coverage that Tony had moved on with his life. He'd forgotten all about Harry and whatever it was they had together, a long, long time ago.

"I suppose we should get started then." He murmurs.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

Lotus watches over the Valkyrie Prince while he sleeps, letting his mind rest from the hours of lessons. The young man learned very quickly, and Lotus was pleased to provide him more and more information about his people. Covering topics that span a broad spectrum, everything from mating habits, culture, science, court etiquette to magic, runes and language and so much more. The little Prince was an eager sponge sucking up every tidbit of information offered to him, in fact Harry seemed to almost crave it. Harry was learning in weeks what would have taken him months or years outside of Lotus's programming within his mind.

It was a true delight watching the fledgling god function, especially since Harry did not realize that he was easily and quickly accelerating passed the normal capabilities of typical Valkyrie capacity. Lotus was learning just as much watching the little god work as she taught him. She was constantly monitoring every function of his body, every blip of his brain working. It was fascinating. Harry used a much larger portion of his brain matter, and made new internal connections constantly. The Prince is evolving right in front of her eyes. An opportunity the AI was unlikely to ever have the chance to observe and study again. For now though, the connection between them was quiet, the only activity that of low level dreaming, nothing that Harry would ever remember consciously upon waking.

Lotus turns to study the thin, barely clinging metaphysical threads tying Harry and Tony together. They are translucent, and badly frayed, showing signs of long term neglect and damage. The poor health of the stagnant beginning bond distressed the AI, so she reached out to lightly touch them. Only barely brushing the fragile threads before quickly recoiling away. They remained unchanged under her psychic touch, barely moving in response, and nearly lifeless. This was not an acceptable state. The bond should be able, and willing to ferociously defend itself against interference. In this condition, Lotus was unsure of the ramifications on Harry's physical, mental and magical health. Lotus reaches out once more, gathering the threads ever so gently into her grasp, and sets herself to seeing what she could do to help.

It took time, too much time in Lotus's opinion, for her to learn enough about the threads to feel she could safely manipulate them without hurting either party connected to them. It would be only a couple short weeks now before they docked to the main ship, and only a few days before she was supposed to wake her passengers. Between planning for Harry's intense lessons and taking extreme caution when studying the threads, it takes Lotus nearly a year from the time of her discovery of their existence to feel confidant enough for her next actions.

She waits until Harry is deep in his slumber before reaching out to the threads of the bond, gently tugging and sparking them lightly into semi awareness. Using the threads, she searches out Tony at the other end, relieved to find him asleep as well, though she could only dimly sense him. It had taken her a bit of searching and watching to pinpoint a time they were both likely to be unconscious for this.

Tugging Tony's end of the bond she places them both into a separate dreamscape that was not the library setting she used for Harry's lessons. One that was entirely controlled by herself. She created a neutral meeting place for the both of them, a simple, but fully operational house that wasn't familiar to either one of the two men. She gave the windows scenery, but designed the house with no way out without her letting them out. She placed each male in a different bedroom and withdrew until she had the barest monitoring in place. Then mentally nudged each one awake.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

Harry stirs slightly on the bed, stretching out slowly. He lets out a low groan of pleasure as arms, legs and feathered wings extend to their furthest reach, popping a few tight joints before he curls back up in a little ball and rolls back onto his side. All without bothering to open his eyes. Harry, in his sleepy haze, decides that he is entirely too comfortable to get out of bed, and if Lotus wants him awake, the AI would have to pull and prod Harry until he was unable to ignore her any longer. So he drifts, teetering between consciousness and slipping back into dreamland. His thoughts are fuzzy and muted, thinking of nothing in particular other than how comfortable he was.

It takes Harry a few minutes in his drowsy state for his mind to realize that the soft comfy blankets he was snuggling into were not supposed to be there. His fingers clutch at the fabric experimentally, confirming to himself that yes, it really is a blanket underneath him. He really was lying on a comfortable bed somehow. Dark lashes, framing unique green and silver eyes flutter open as he tries to bring his surroundings into focus. The first thing he notices, is the ghastly colored blanket his face is pressed against. A country style quilted pattern that is nauseatingly bright colored, and frankly, it is ugly as hell. Harry's eyes dart around the room as he slowly sits up; taking in the plain cream walls with landscape pictures, the pale green curtains on the single small window, and the wooden dresser with tall mirror that is the only other pieces of furniture aside from the bed.

Glancing down at himself he immediately notes as he does so that he is dressed, but barefoot. Harry finds that he is wearing a simple pair of black cotton lounge pants and no shirt. Leaving the magical runic tattoos down his spine and the insides of both of his arms on full display. His onyx and iridescent green wings are spread over the bed, stripped of the protective illusion that is normally hiding them. Most likely the reason he was so warm, despite the lack of a shirt to cover him. The room he is in lacks much color aside from the ugly bedspread and the unattractive pea green curtains. The one small window to the left shows only a thick treeline and some type of body of water he could barely see. Possibly a pond.

He gets off the bed slowly, it is then Harry notices an open door on the other side. Tiptoeing cautiously over to the door, Harry peeks his head around the corner. He finds a typical modern bathroom, but it seems to be strangely lacking a toilet. Frowning in confusion, Harry inspects the sink and counter, as well as the shower, but finds nothing strange. There are no windows, and nothing else out of the ordinary in the room. He returns to the bedroom.

Standing in the middle of the room he takes a few deeps breaths to try and keep himself calm. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten here. This place is completely unfamiliar to Harry, and with each passing moment, his anxiety with the situation grows. _How did he end up here? And where was he? Where were Meloth, Kiran, or Lotus?_

Harry pauses in the center of the room, "Lotus?" he calls softly into the empty air.

There is no response, indicating to Harry that he is no longer on board the Valkyrie shuttle ship. Something must have happened, and somehow, he'd ended up back on Earth. That was the only explanation he could come up with for the time being, even if he was aware that it was somewhat ridiculous. Though for the life of him, Harry could not remember how he'd gotten here. As he walks by the mirror, his image catches his attention briefly. Long enough to note that his unusual eyes are no longer hidden. Murmuring the glamour spell to cover his eyes back up, he sighs, but isn't overly surprised when the spell does not work. _Okay, obviously something is very, very wrong._

He tries a simple light spell, and finds that it works just fine. He tries another spell, and another. Quickly figuring out that spells that would harm do not work, but spells to shield did. Spells to hide or conceal, again, did not work, but other harmless ones did. It was strange, and unlike anything Harry had ever experienced before. He did not know what to make of it. Taking a breath, Harry decides the only real way of finding out what is going on is to leave the room.

Cautiously Harry approaches the door, listening intently for any other sound beyond, but hears nothing. Grasping the handle he cracks the door open, peeking through, but again, there is nothing. He slowly opens the door the rest of the way and finds only an empty hallway, with the same dull white paint on the walls, and grey carpeting. He looks left, and then right, and sees no one.

Right leads to what looks like another bathroom, while left looks like it leads out to the living room. Harry goes left, heart pounding in his chest as he creeps down the hall on his toes, hypersensitive to any little noise. There isn't any that he can hear, no traffic, or the TV, or even the normal birds from outside. There was only dead silence, and it unnerved him badly. With his extended hearing Harry should be able to hear something, but it's just was not there. He moves into the living room without trouble, finding typical furniture, but no TV, and no clocks. On the upside, another window. He goes over to it and peers out, finding his view blocked by more trees. He looks around for a latch to open it, but doesn't find one.

A loud thump behind him against the wall has Harry nearly coming out of his skin in startlement. He spins around on his feet, instinctively falling into a defensive stance, wings mantled in a clearly aggressive posture around him. What he finds has him freezing in place, eyes widening in disbelief at what he was seeing. It just wasn't possible, it made absolutely no sense. But he could not deny that standing in the living room doorway is Tony, dressed in grey sleep pants and a black sabbath t-shirt. Just staring back at Harry, blue eyes large with shock. The other man seemed just as caught off guard as Harry.

Slowly, Harry straightens up from his threatening posture. Tony doesn't move, but his eyes follow Harry's every motion, lips parted as though he wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't leave his throat. Harry's voice breaks the spell. "Tony, where are we? Are you alright? Why are we here?"

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

When Tony woke up in a room he did not recognize, in a bed he was unfamiliar with; his first thought had been that Pepper was going to murder him. His second, was to wonder how he had ended up in someone else's bedroom when he was getting drunk in the privacy of his penthouse at Stark Tower. It wasn't that far fetched that he might have gone out somewhere after getting sloshed, but normally he would remember if he did something like that. He would certainly remember going to bed with someone that wasn't Pepper. As his head began to clear, Tony realized that he was mistaken. The bed was too neat to have shared it with anyone, he wasn't even under the covers, and the sheets certainly didn't have the lingering scent of sex.

 _What the hell is going on?_

He gets up off the bed, barely glancing around the room, long enough to take note the plain white walls, and ugly curtains. Tony makes a beeline for the door, noting as he went his state of dress. _If they are not after sex, then maybe they kidnapped him to get the arc reactor?_ Perhaps not, considering he was still alive, and it does not appear that the reactor had been tampered with. However, his cell phone was clearly missing, which meant he will not be able to communicate with Jarvis. He pokes his head out into the hall, seeing nothing right away, but hears movement in the direction of what looked like the living room.

 _Someone was here then, good. That meant he could find out what was going on._

Tony makes his way down the hallway to confront whoever it was, but finds himself instead tripping over his own foot when he catches sight of the creature standing by the large bay window, thumping loudly into the wall next to him. He barely registers the pain in his elbow as his eyes take in the strange sight before him. At first the only thing Tony can focus on is the very large wings. Larger than anything he has ever seen before. He catches sight of the toned back they are attached to, making mental note of the strange tattooed writing before the figure spins about on his heel. Wings arched in a clearly threatening gesture as the man moves into a defensive posture. Tony has just a couple heartbeats to register that the underside of those black wings had iridescent green feathers before his brain completely short circuits.

Harry.

Harry's face staring back at him from this strange creature's body. HIS Harry. With wings and tattooed arms and those strange other worldly eyes Agent Barton had reported to SHIELD. But there was no mistaking Harry's face. Harry's body, that Tony was so intimately familiar with.

Harry was dressed only in loose black lounge pants and nothing else, giving Tony quite an eyeful of delicious skin. He watches, still stunned as Harry stares back at him, just as clearly surprised to see him. Slowly Harry straightens out of his aggressive stance. His voice cutting through Tony like a knife. A voice Tony hasn't heard since MIT. "Tony, where are we? Are you alright? Why are we here?"

Tony makes a strangled noise in his throat, and Harry blinks, a frown creasing his brows. "Tony?" He tries again, moving towards the other man, only to stop when Tony took a step back. Finally finding his voice, Tony whispers hoarsely, his words twisted with pain. "You're not real."

Harry couldn't be real. It just wasn't possible. Harry was lying in a coma in England, unlikely to ever wake up again. This couldn't be real, so Tony must still be asleep. This was a dream or a hallucination from over indulgence. That was the only rational, logical explanation. This was all something his drunken mind was making up.

Though why it would turn Harry into some kind of sexy gothic angel Tony wasn't going to touch with a ten foot pole. Or argue with, because it was so working for him. _Huh, who knew that Tony Stark would randomly develop a wing kink? IHesure as hell didn't._

"What?" Harry is still frowning at him, a mixture of confusion and hurt.

Tony clears his throat softly, forcing himself to stand a little straighter. Resolving himself to his theory, and steeling himself against the look in Harry's eyes. Otherwise Tony fears he might lose his mind. "You're not real. You're a hallucination. I drank way too much and now I'm having this horrible hallucination."

Harry flinches, the pain of the words stealing his breath for a moment. "I'm real Tony, I swear." He takes another step forward, and this time, Tony remains in place, but he is clearly suspicious. The stunned, overwhelmed look is quickly leaving his features, being replaced with mounting anger as the billionaire reiterates.

"You aren't real. You can't be. Harry's been in a coma for almost two years. Your hair is long, and the real Harry's hair was cut off. Harry doesn't have tattoos on his arms or his back either. Never mind the fact your eyes are all wrong. Admittedly, they are pretty, but still wrong, and don't get me started on those ridiculous wings."

Harry's breath catches, the words hitting him in the gut like an anvil. His words are soft and unsteady when he speaks again, two toned eyes shifting to one side, unable to meet Tony's own as he asks the question. "You...you think my wings are ridiculous looking? What-what's wrong with them?" Unconsciously Harry folds them behind himself to make them smaller, tucking them close to his body so they were the least visible, shoulders hunching a tiny bit. If he could, Harry would have hidden them completely under a spell, and made sure to never show them to Tony again.

 _Oh Hell. He was so screwed._ Tony could physically feel his walls crumbling down like sand under Harry's devastated expression, his wounded body language. _Damn, but this hallucination was good._ It physically turned Tony's stomach to have Harry turn away from him like that. Like he was mercilessly gutting a vulnerable little cherub, and Tony didn't even believe in the damned things. He couldn't brush off fake Harry like he would anyone else. It wasn't going to work. He needed to fix this while still keeping in mind this wasn't real. Tony moves forward, reaching out a hand to gently touch the other man.

Harry startles when a hand suddenly touches his face, tilting his chin up. He had not even noticed that Tony approached him, but there he was, standing in front of Harry, blue eyes staring into his own intently. Harry is unsure what it is that Tony is looking for, but he stays still. The hand on his face is firm but gentle. They stand like that for a few long moments, staring into the other's eyes, and just breathing. Until finally Tony let's go and steps back. His expression serious, and still suspicious.

"You're Harry, but you're not."

Tony's eyes scan him again from head to toe. "You have his face, his voice, his body. Hell even his body language, and the way you look at me. It's the same, but you cannot possibly be real. Because Harry does not have wings, and your eyes...are different. So...you're some exotic hallucination. You have to be. It would also explain why I have no idea where I am, and can't remember how I got here." Tony nods to himself, deciding he had solved the mystery as far as he was concerned.

Harry just sighs, well familiar with Tony's stubbornness. He pushes away the hurt from Tony's words as best he can. The man was confused and scared, Harry needed to strive to not take anything he said too personally right now. Until Harry could prove to Tony otherwise, he would persist in his insistence.

"Fine, I'm a dream." Harry sighs again with reluctance in every line of his body.

"Hallucination." Tony corrects promptly. Harry ruthlessly repressed the urge to smack him upside the head.

"Whatever!" Harry snaps back unable to completely curb his temper. He decides that standing here arguing with Tony over something the man was clearly not ready to accept not matter the explanation, was not worth his time.

Instead Harry shouldered passed the man, ignoring a noise of protest from Tony and strides off to explore the rest of the house. He quickly discovers that the house is small. He goes into the kitchen to see if there is another exit. The windows are locked as well as the backdoor, and apparently the glass is shatterproof. This is discovered when throwing a kitchen stool at one window had resulted in the stool bouncing back and nearly knocking Harry in the face.

Glaring at the offending piece of furniture, Harry huffs in frustration, turning around to leave the kitchen only to find Tony standing in the doorway staring at him with an unreadable expression. Harry rolls his eyes at him, still angry, and shoves Tony aside so he can leave the room. Leaving the stool on the floor where it landed. Aware that Tony was following him, but not caring, Harry returns to the living room, pacing back and forth in agitation. Harry did not deal well with being trapped in places he had no way out of, his agitation from earlier was returning with a vengeance. Now that he was no longer completely distracted by seeing Tony again for the first time in years.

Black feathers fluff and flutter in response to his mood. They are in an unknown location, obviously spell trapped in a house, isolated and surrounded by what looked to be deep forest. Not good. There are no phones, no clocks, no silverware in the drawers even, and for some reason he was unable to figure out, no toilets in the bathroom. What the hell is going on? Obviously he wasn't going to get any answers from his environment, so he turns back to Tony, who was now sitting in one of the chairs watching Harry pace instead of standing.

The look in Tony's blue eyes has changed. While there is lingering suspicion, there is also calculating curiosity. Harry could feel the other man's eyes roving over his body, and especially over his feathers. The feeling wasn't unwelcome exactly, but Harry felt exposed and vulnerable under the intensity of the other man's gaze. Harry was unused to being on full display for anyone like this, Valkyrie or human. It made him fidget, uncertain if the intense attention was sexual or if he should be wary, considering Tony didn't think he was real.

In either case, Tony was entirely too mellow about this whole mess for Harry's peace of mind. Tony was looking at him as if Harry were some sort of living puzzle he wanted to take apart and put back together again. Just to see how it worked. The mental image makes him shiver. Time to distract the both of them, before Harry started clawing at the walls in an attempt to find a way out. "Where were you before you appeared here?"

Tony shrugs, his voice calm and bland. Seemingly unconcerned, and not falling for what Harry thought was obvious conversation bait. The slight tilt of Tony's chin lets Harry know the man is aware of his unsubtle tactic. He speaks anyway. "Sleeping."

Harry forces himself to stop pacing and sit down across from Tony, ignoring the burn of lust in his mate's eyes as they wandered over his skin. He repressed a sigh of frustration. Tony was untrusting of him right now, so starting a meaningful conversation was going to be like pulling teeth from a shark. Unwise, and possibly bloody. Harry pushes on regardless, needing some recognition from the man. His emotions were such a swirling mess he was unable to separate one from another for more than a few heartbeats. "So was I. Nice to see you're handling this so calmly."

Again Tony shrugs, and leans back in his chair. Both his expression and body language are distant, and indifferent. His sapphire eyes hold little to no warmth for Harry now. Instead they regard him almost clinically. It hurt Harry to have his mate looking at him with such distrust. Harry had to remind himself that Tony had little reason to be trusting or welcoming of Harry's presence. Especially if the man truly believed what he was experiencing was not real. It's only now, when he is really looking, that Harry notices something strange as the Black Sabbath shirt stretched over Tony's chest. There is an odd circular lump in the center of it. _What was that? Was it a medical device? Was something wrong with Tony's heart?_

Before Harry can ask, Tony speaks, breaking the silence, and interrupting his thoughts. "It's just a hallucination, why get upset over it? It's just you and me here. Yeah the house is boring, but I'll take this over my usual nightmares any day of the week. Though I'm trying to figure out why I'm hallucinating you like this instead of how you normally look."

Harry closes his eyes in frustration, rubbing a hand over them, before speaking in slow measured words. Anxiety and fear were mounting and twining together in a ugly little ball in Harry's stomach. Making dealing with Tony's denial more emotionally impacting than it would have normally been. "Tony, you are a brilliant man, but sometimes I want to smack you. You. Are. Not. Hallucinating."

Harry drops his head lightly against the back of the sofa, glaring at the ceiling while he spoke. Unable to meet Tony's eyes for this because he knew, he knew the other was unlikely to believe him, regardless of what he might say. "I have wings because I was born with them. I'm not a mutant, or even human at all, and never have been. That's why I look different to you. For some reason being here negates the measures I was using to hide myself. To appear human and blend in. I didn't tell you because..well..for many reasons… "

Harry's voice softens as he continues, deliberately not thinking about the silence from Tony. "There was so much I was keeping from you, so many things I wanted to tell you about. But I couldn't, because it would endanger others I care about. It wasn't my secret to tell at the time. Now though...things are a bit different. I know you're still angry with me for leaving. At the time, I did not feel like I had a choice Tony, and I'm sorry that things ended the way it did. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to fix it, any of it. I was so lost..and I couldn't even explain any of what was going on with me to you. My own personal happiness during that point was secondary to my other responsibilities, and you suffered for it without knowing why. I'll always regret that."

Harry shifts his eyes from the ceiling, lowering them slowly to meet Tony's curious sapphire blue ones. Tony is watching him, amusement curling one side of his mouth up. Completely unconcerned with Harry's words. Tony still did not believe him. It would seem that for the time being, there was little point in continuing his confessions. Tony wasn't really listening to anything Harry said at the moment. He changes the focus of conversation to something else instead. "Tony...how did you know I was in a coma?" Harry tilts his head curiously.

Tony frowns at him a little bit, puzzled by the question. Shouldn't his hallucination know this already? Fake Harry certainly seemed to have colorful explanations for his non-human appearance. "Because I visit you. Your mother called Rhodey, and he let me know that something had happened to you. So I flew out to England. Shouldn't you know this already?"

Harry shakes his head, eyes briefly shutting in pain. He mutters a few curse words under his breath that made Tony raise an eyebrow. Harry didn't normally swear. Tony's other eyebrow swiftly joins the first when Harry sits up, a deeply sorrowful expression on his face. He reaches out to grasp Tony's work calloused hand, squeezing tightly. Despite being wary, Tony doesn't pull away, wanting to see where this was going.

"Tony, I'm so sorry. If I had known...If I had thought that it would matter at all to you, I would have found a different way of doing this. I understand your confusion now. The Harry on Earth isn't real, it's a golem. A fake. A spell created, hollow vessel meant to fool people into believing that I am still there when I'm not. It's brain dead, and soulless. There are spells on it to fool the machine monitors. I have watchers placed in the medical staff to keep an eye on the golem to be sure no one messes with it."

With a soft noise of disgust and anger, Tony yanks his hand away. Beyond pissed at the obvious lie coming out of this Harry's mouth. "No. Just...NO. Harry wouldn't do something so cruel to his family. Regardless of how things between him and myself were. Harry would never keep something like this from his parents. Alice would know about all of it. If she knew, she wouldn't be as destroyed as she is now. Nobody is that good of an actor. She's a wreck, Harry!"

Tony raises his hands to run them roughly through his hair, tugging at the strands in agitation before dropping them back into his lap and glaring balefully up at a stunned Harry. His words angry and biting. "And the medical staff, I checked them all out! They are legit. Some of them have been in the field before we were even born! I don't know where you've come up with this...this insanity, but you've fucked up, because I know you're lying. Magic isn't real...Aliens...well that's debatable. Clones? Alright, very far fetched, but I've heard rumours for years about underground research on it. But this whole scenario that you've come up with? Complete bullshit. I was there, Harry. I saw your supposed golem. It breathes, it looks like you, smells like you! It has your hair and your fucking girly eyelashes! It doesn't have wings, or tattoos, or those strange eyes! If you really expect me to believe all of that you're out of your mind!"

Tony gets to his feet, needing to put some space between himself and this fake Harry. He stalks over to the window, barely reining in his temper. Suddenly he whirls back around, feeling vindictive and wanting to hurt Harry as much as he was hurting right now. How he had been hurting for months. It just burned him that he had poured his heart out to Harry, and this hallucination was claiming it was a golem.

Fuck that.

He refused to believe it. "You know your father's dead right?" He ignores the other man's visible flinch, rolling on before Harry can speak in response to the statement. "Or did you not account for that in your plans? Your mother is completely alone and having to take care of you. Who the hell falls down the stairs anyway?!" His voice rises as the pent up words and emotions begin to start tumbling out of his mouth.

After all this time of keeping his own pain and anger silent, he finally has a target in this hallucination. He can finally vent the poison from his system. "Ever since your supposed accident things have gone to shit." He shakes his head in disgust, and turns away.

Harry stares down into his lap, numb with the revelation that his father had passed away. Finally he whispers. "What happened?"

For a moment Tony wants to completely blow Harry off, but then he remembers Jarvis. He remembers the files on genetic manipulation, the accusations from SHIELD about human experimentation. He remembers the strange computer coding that neither he nor the AI had ever encountered before. Recalling Harry's eyes, he notes again the silver and green that Agent Barton had reported.

He turns back around glaring at the Valkyrie. "Jasper had a heart attack while at work, he didn't make it to the hospital."

Harry squeezes his eyes shut, taking in a sharp breath in a vain attempt to keep his composure. Regardless of his pain, now was not the time to deal with it. Tony was angry and Harry wasn't feeling up to weathering his sharp tongue concerning his father. Tony doesn't give him more than a second to gather himself together. "Well Harry? What about the SHIELD reports? Is any of that true?"

Harry blinks, caught off guard and doesn't clear his expression fast enough. It's obvious to Tony that Harry knows exactly what SHIELD is, and what he was referring to. Tony watches as Harry visibly considers whether or not to lie to him. It seems he decided not to. "I'm not entirely sure what SHIELD has in its files currently…" Harry trails off, shrugging.

Tony scowls at him. "How about Human Experiments? Genetic Manipulations? Bio-weapons and drugs?" Harry's expression gets darker as Tony speaks, he is less than pleased by the accusatory questions. The Valkyrie turns his face away, staring down at the carpet for a long few moments and despite Tony believing this Harry to be a fake, he feels his heart sink down into his stomach with dread.

Finally Harry takes a breath and speaks, his voice a little unsteady. "Well...they aren't wrong per se...just...they have the wrong idea of what everything is exactly. Yes, we are technically conducting experiments, and genetic manipulations, but they are not on real people. They're on clones without souls or even consciousness. I have the consent of the persons they are cloned from, legally signed."

Harry's brow furrows. "I don't know where the bio-weapon allegations came from, I have no idea where they would get that idea from. I'll have to go through every section of Gemini to make sure that is unfounded. To answer your question about the drugs, yes. That part they have correct, but I'm not sure what they are getting at. They're drugs created and required for my work with the clones."

Tony crosses his arms over his chest, his emotions mixed. On the one hand, he is furious with Harry for confirming his fears, on another he wanted to know more. "Why do you need clones, what are you experimenting with? Don't tell me it has anything to do with the Super Soldier Serum."

Harry raises his gaze from the carpet and shakes his head. "I don't know what that is Tony, so no. My work has several different parts, the largest one has to do with fertility."

Tony's leans back against the cool glass behind him. His tone blatantly mocking. "I'm not sure that I believe you, but whatever. We have all kinds of fertility treatments in the medical field already. So that was a terrible cover-up. Assuming that garbage is even remotely true, why not tell SHIELD about it? Get them off your back?"

Harry rolls his eyes. "First of all, it's none of their business what my company is doing unless it's causing problems. They have no legal right to stick their noses into what I'm doing. I'm not hurting anyone. And obviously you weren't listening to a damned thing I told you earlier."

He gets up off the couch, crowding Tony's personal space in his anger. The soft feathers of his wings trembling with his emotion, his words a low aggressive growl. "I. AM. NOT. HUMAN! Wake up! How many times do I have to tell you before you will believe me?"

Tony snorts, raising a hand to rest it on Harry's chest and firmly, but slowly pushes Harry out of his personal space. "Right. You're an Alien, from mars, or whatever." Tony drawls in a tone Harry had heard him use for people he found too repulsive to even bother arguing with anymore.

It caused Harry's last thread of control to unravel completely, the furniture and windows begin to rattle violently. Tony tenses, blue eyes flying around the room to search for the cause of the sudden shift in the atmosphere. Not seeing anything his eyes drop back down to look at Harry to check that he is alright. When blue eyes meet the other male's, his breath freezes in his lungs. Harry's eyes are pitch black. No whites, no green or silver. Complete darkness, glaring at him. The effect was rather demonic. Tony drops his hand from Harry's chest slowly, and tries to step back away, but the window behind him doesn't allow him to. He's not sure how to react to this. Should he feel threatened? Because if that was Harry's intent, he managed it rather well.

Harry's rage quickly leaves him at the first sign of Tony's fear. Never did Harry want his mate to be afraid of him, or fear his power. He turns away and moves back over to the couch in a daze, shaken by the look in Tony's eyes. Dropping down heavily on the seat, he sighs sadly, and drops his head into his now free hands. Despair claws cruelly at his heart, making it hard to breath for a few moments. Harry could show Tony spells until he was blue in the face, and because the man insisted this was a hallucinatory reality, he wouldn't believe any of the proof Harry could offer up.

Dimly he heard Tony still breathing in the background, he could hear the man's heart rabbiting a hundred miles an hour in his chest. In near silence Harry's breath hitches, his eyes burning as he held them tightly closed. After all these years of missing the other man desperately, Harry finally had him in front of him. But at the same time, Tony had never been further from his reach. Because Tony didn't believe he was real, and Harry had no way of convincing him otherwise. Harry loses the battle with keeping the tears at bay, and a few slip past his clenched eyelids anyhow, dropping warmly into the palms of his hands. He was so angry, so frustrated and heartbroken and..so many other emotions it was overwhelming. He couldn't contain it any longer, and since he refused to release any of it in rage, tears were all that was left.

Now that the first few tears had managed to escape his control, more followed rapidly after. Harry wept in silence; breath choked, burning in his chest, heart thundering in his ears until he couldn't hear anything else. His mate thought Harry was a drunk figment of his imagination, and nothing Harry could possible say would change his mind. It felt like a gaping hole has ripped itself open in Harry's chest as he sinks further into his pain. Tony had looked at him like he was a monster. How could he possibly fix this? Could it ever be fixed? So many years apart from Tony, Harry had felt like he was slowly losing himself. So Harry had buried himself in his work, in the needs of his people to keep from dealing with any of it.

Harry didn't know how long it was after he started, but Tony's heartbeat was suddenly a lot closer. Hands that are work rough were gently but firmly pulling Harry's own away from his face. Tony was on his knees on the floor in front of him. The Valkyrie made to turn his face away in embarrassment, but Tony's hand prevented the motion. Making Harry tilt his head up a little to meet Tony's eyes instead. Those blue eyes are dark with distress, and his lips were moving. It takes Harry a few heartbeats to hear the words being spoken over the rushing sound in his head.

"Jesus, Harry don't do that….fuck. I didn't mean it alright? I'm sorry...Damn, please don't cry…" Hands softly brush the tears off Harry's cheeks, but some were still coming, he was unable to stop them. Tony meanwhile, is pissed at himself, staring down into Harry's damp gleaming eyes. They were beautiful to begin with, otherworldly, but wet like this, they shone like strange exotic jewels.

Hallucination, human or not, Harry was like a drug to Tony. One he couldn't shake. No matter how he tried to keep Harry at a distance, he couldn't manage it. Even with the completely unbelievable words coming from Harry's mouth, Tony finds that when it comes down to it. It just doesn't matter. Harry is here. Harry is in his arms, and Tony's dumb ass had made him cry. Tony had hurt him. That was unacceptable. With internal resignation Tony waves the white flag, knowing that when he woke from this dream, his heart was going to be shredded. It doesn't matter. Tony would do anything, pay any price to have Harry in his arms again. Even if it meant destroying himself piece by bloody piece for just a taste.

Tony sighs softly, leaning down to brush gentle soft kisses over Harry's face, murmuring apologies and pleas over and over. Anything to make Harry stop crying, the sight of it damn near killed him. Hallucination or not, making Harry cry was a scummy thing to do, even if Tony hadn't done it on purpose. His runaway mouth had struck again, with the poor results in front of him. Tony didn't know what to think at this point. Obviously the hallucination believed he was real, enough that Tony's continued denial hurt him to this level. Tony wasn't going to bring it up again, that was for damned sure. Tony gave up the fight. Even if it meant he sank into madness, Tony would live with it, so long as he got to keep Harry.

It takes nearly a half hour for Tony to slowly calm Harry down, during that time the both of them ended up snuggled together on the floor in front of the sofa, completely wrapped up around one another. Somehow, Tony ended up with his back leaning against the sofa, with a lap full of Harry in his arms. Harry's arms are resting gently around Tony's neck, a slender thigh resting warmly on each side of Tony's hips, with black and green wings draped warmly over the both of them. Tony has one arm wrapped loosely around Harry's waist. His other hand buried in Harry's long gorgeous black hair. Despite the position, there wasn't a sexual charge between them at the moment. Instead they were simply enjoying being close to one another, resting their foreheads together, Tony occasionally brushing kisses across Harry's sweet mouth, or somewhere else on his face.

In spite of the tears soaking his shirt, a sappy smile crosses Tony's lips when Harry leans forward to lightly rub their noses together, closing pretty green eyes with a soft sigh before laying his head down on Tony's shoulder. Harry's fingers were lightly tracing the outline of his arc reactor, but Tony is unbothered by the touch. He has no fear reaction to Harry exploring it. He belonged entirely to the other man, and that meant every part of him was there for Harry to touch if he wished. There were still the remnants of tear tracks on Harry's cheeks, but his eyes were dry now, and he seemed content to cuddle Tony. For several more minutes they sit together in silence, reveling in the other's presence after so long apart from one another.

"How do you know about SHIELD in the first place? Or about my files?"

For a couple heartbeats Tony doesn't answer, when he does his tone is carefully neutral. He was starting to get an inkling that perhaps, just maybe he was too hasty in thinking this encounter was a hallucination. Perhaps there was more to this than he was seeing. Not that Tony believed a word out of this being's mouth, but Tony had suddenly realized that he was here without his Iron Man suit, with a creature claiming to be Harry. Who looked enough like Harry to give the man pause, but had just demonstrated an ability Tony was only familiar with mutants having. If this person was a mutant, here to screw with him, for whatever reason. Then Tony was in deep shit. This Harry had already admitted to possessing powers of illusion, even if Tony was unsure of it being true.

"Your mother has cameras set up in the room with your...golem. I had my AI hack into the monitoring system to keep an eye on you when I was unable to visit. He informed me that SHIELD made a piss poor attempt at hacking the system. So I looked into it. I was already in the SHIELD mainframe. I just went looking."

Gently he strokes the nape of Harry's neck with his fingertips as he continues speaking. "I found files on you, on Gemini BioTech, and on Syntech Research. They have your blood work, your DNA, samples of your hair, your skin. They have pictures of you both before and after your accident. They have copies of your medical reports, as well as whatever they could get a hold of on your family's medical as well. Nothing out of the ordinary there. They're looking into both of your companies. Thus far, they have been unable to infiltrate Gemini, but you'll have to do some house cleaning in Syntech. They have several pieces of conflicting information concerning you. Your eyes for example. One of their Agents got a look at your silver and green, but your golem doesn't have them. And your blood test confuses them. You tested...negative...for the X-gene...you came up as human…" Tony trails off, unable to believe he had forgotten that piece of information. Harry had tested negative for the X-gene, when he knew Harry was physically...unique. He had also tested completely male. Which Tony knew Harry was not, knew it intimately.

Harry lifts his head up from Tony's shoulder, curious about the sudden silence. His eyes have returned to their normal duel colors. He was still pissed, but not to the point of physical harm any longer. More sad than anything else for the time being. Tony is staring at him with an expression Harry cannot understand. For a few heartbeats they just look at one another, until Tony finds his voice. Harry tilts his head when he hears it, a hushed mixture of hope, confusion and curiosity. "What are you?"

Harry drops his eyes back down to the carpet for a brief moment before looking back up. "Are you actually going to listen to me this time Tony? This might take a long time. I'm sure you're going to have a lot of endless questions."

Tony nods his head, not speaking, so Harry continues. "I'm not making bio-weapons. Why would I when you humans have a million and one ways to murder one another as it is?" Harry mutters bitterly.

Tony narrows his eyes. "That's low."

Harry just gives him a smile with a little too much teeth, very quickly burning through his tolerance for Tony's bullshit. He was a little sensitive and protective where his people were concerned. "Yea well, Stark Industries is not exactly being Mother Teresa there Anthony."

Tony grimaces, but concedes. "Point. However, you're behind on your information. Stark Industries doesn't make weapons anymore. I moved us over into the clean energy business, and we're looking at other tech fields to branch into."

Tony straightens in his seat, looking at Harry intently. "That's not what I want to talk about though. You keep saying you're not human, and you're not a mutant. So what are you?"

Harry sighed, his eyes drifting to the ceiling as he answered. Well aware that Tony was about to give him a bunch of shit for this. "Valkyrie. We're called Valkyrie."

For a few heartbeats there is silence. Curious despite himself, Harry looks down at Tony. To find a raised eyebrow. "So...you're a Norse death angel?"

Harry scowls while Tony drags his eyes up and down Harry's form. "You sure as hell don't look like a woman, or remotely like any of the images depicted in their religion."

Harry growls softly, causing Tony to meet his eyes again. "That's because we aren't Norse anything for one. Secondly, human legends are a complete load of bollocks! Yes, Valkyrie were here around the same time as the Asgardian gods, but we were here both before and after them as well. Valkyrie were often mistaken for angels or demons, depending on who to speak to. No we aren't women, none of us are. We aren't men either. We're all dual gendered. The only thing I can think of, is that ancient man could not explain how we got pregnant, so they depicted us as female. We're sure as hell not angels. We're just a flawed as human beings are. We're aliens, from the constellation you've named Gemini. The star you named Pollux was our sun. Our home world was killed by a race called the Skrull. They have a large empire of hundreds of planets. The ones closest to Earth are in the Andromeda system. They are shape-shifters. They infiltrate and destroy, among other things. With no Home world any longer, we migrated for a while and ended up here."

Tony frowns at him a little bit. "So you grew up on Earth? The Sinclairs, they adopted you, how did that happen?"

Harry sighs softly, reminded of his recently passed father. "My father and my older siblings died on our Home world to buy my mother time to put together an escape for some of our people. I was born and hatched here on Earth. Mother...Mum waited until I was about five, old enough to somewhat understand why suicide was...Well, you have to understand that when a Valkyrie loses a bonded Mate it's...there is nothing more horrible in all the worlds. It's like someone reached into your soul and ripped all the best parts of it away. Leaving you broken and bleeding, no longer truly a person, no longer really alive. Just a shell. There is no happiness, no joy, and no peace. The Sinclairs adopted me shortly after, and some years later, I met you. That's the gist of it."

They both fall into silence, Harry lost in his memories, and Tony trying to figure out which questions to ask first without seeming overly insensitive. Tony had never had that close parental bond with either of his parents. His mother had been kind, but she hadn't really been a mother. She had shielded him from his father at times, and abandoned him to the man at others. He'd never understood the woman. He's interrupted from his thoughts when Harry speaks again. "Well, ask your questions, I know they must be burning you up."

Tony can't help a little smile. "You were hatched? Seriously?"

Harry rolls his eyes, somehow, unsurprised by the question. "Yes Tony, I was hatched. From an egg. These wings are not just for decoration you know. It's not that strange. A mother carries for nine months, just like a human, and gives birth to a soft shelled egg. The shell hardens once out in the air and remains that way for another three months while the wings develop. Then the fledgling hatches. Once the shells are hardened, the closer they get to the end of the three months the more delicate they are. Mothers are rather vicious when it comes to guarding their nests. A babe hatched too early can die, or be crippled for life."

Tony searches his eyes intently and bites his bottom lip, then gives a slow nod. "You really are serious. Huh, okay. Eggs...noted. So, you've said that the...Valkyrie have been here throughout human history at different times. Why don't we know about you more? Are you the only one here, or are there a lot of you? How do you guys blend in so well? The research you mentioned, it's for the Valkyrie isn't it? Then why the human experiments?"

Harry reaches up and places a hand over Tony's mouth, gently silencing him. "Hush Tony, give me a few minutes to actually answer you. Yes, we've been here off and on throughout human history. Ancient people knew more about us then people now, because humans became more and more hostile towards us over the years. So we became more hidden. Illusion magic helps hide our wings, but most of us lack any magical talent beyond that. We do have magi however. I am a magi, I can do much more with my magic then hide my wings. There are more than just myself on Earth, I won't elaborate on that because my silence means their protection."

He pauses to take a breath, flicking a glance at Tony to be sure he still had his attention. "As for my research, yes, it's for my people. We're a dying race Tony, we desperately need more children, the Skrull damn near crippled our population. We're long lived, which means we breed slow. I'm trying to change this. Mixing with the humans drives our fertility through the roof. I'm researching different ways of using this fact. Valkyrie are taking human mates, and the results are spectacular. We have more babes, and healthier babes from mixed couples than from pure blooded lines right now. Well...from the male mixed couples anyhow. Taking a human female for a mate is much more difficult. None of the children have survived because she cannot produce the needed shell. That's what I'm working on, trying to find a way to fix that."

Harry drops his hand back into his lap and watches Tony's face as he processes the information. "So what is the point of this...golem you claim is still on Earth?"

Harry sighs softly, running a hand through his hair in irritation. "I'm not on Earth, I was in Cryo sleep before I ended up here with you. I'm going to another ship further out to pick up more of my people to bring home now that we have somewhere safe to place them. We have means to help them blend in safely. The trip is not a short one, and I needed to still be visible because of SHIELD surveillance, and because of my family. Disappearing for four years without contact with anyone would not have gone over well with my mother, as you well know." Tony snorts softly in agreement. "So I created the golem to take my place while I am gone for that time. It was never meant to be a permanent thing, and I did not know you would get wind of it at all. I was under the impression you wanted nothing to do with me."

Tony nods, then looks away as he considers all the information he's heard today, blatantly ignoring Harry's last comment. "Harry...I want to believe you..but I can't. I just...it's too far fetched for me...I need some kind of proof, something, anything."

He turns his eyes back to Harry's green and silver ones. "Nothing would make me happier than to know you are alright, that you're coming home. I miss you Harry…"

Harry leans forward to lightly kiss Tony on the forehead while he thought. There had to be something besides his magic to offer the man. Suddenly he blinked, and wanted to smack himself. "Tony...Valkyrie are dual gendered as you well know…"

Again Tony nods his head.

"Well...the golem is not. It's male, completely. I designed it to be perfectly human in every way. When you get home, you'll have to check. That's the only solid proof I can offer you...the scars on my back would be missing also, but they can be explained away through cosmetic surgery at some point. You know there is no surgery on Earth that can make me a complete perfect male."

Tony makes a considering face. "That...is pretty good. But..to be frisking you while you're in a coma? That's low and pretty disturbing, even for me."

Harry shrugs sadly. "It's all I have Tony, unless you want to try speaking with Dr. Blake. I'm not sure that he would speak to you though without my direct permission, and I have no way of contacting him right now. Not anytime soon."

Again they both fall into silence, content to rest in one another's arms for a while. Taking comfort in the other man's closeness. Harry begins to trace the outline of the arc reactor under Tony's shirt, his mind brought back to the question he had wanted to ask Tony earlier, but had been distracted from. Finally Harry's soft voice breaks the quiet. "What is this in your chest Tony? Are you sick?"

Tony blinks, reaching down to gently take Harry's hand away from the arc reactor. Without speaking he just as gently shifts Harry off of his chest, offering a tiny smile to his curious expression. He pulls the Black Sabbath shirt up over his head and drops it on the seat of the sofa behind them. Harry's eyes are locked on the reactor in Tony's chest, lips parted in surprise. Hesitantly Harry raises a hand, clearly wanting to touch, but not doing so. Tony takes Harry's hand and places it firmly on the reactor before taking his own hand away, showing Harry that he was allowed to touch if he wanted to.

Harry's fingers lightly trace the scars around the arc reactor, causing Tony to shiver, and shut his eyes. Some of the scars lacked feeling at all, while others were highly sensitive. Tony just concentrates on his breathing, equally amused and unnerved by how arousing Harry's attention to them was. He's never let anyone touch them, not even Pepper, unable to repress a flinch each time she tried. Just the idea of anyone touching it after what happened in Afghanistan, after Stane had ripped it out, made his skin crawl. But Harry doesn't bother him, Harry is safe. Even if for some reason Harry were to remove it, Tony was disturbed to realize that he would not stop him. Just wonder why. Tony knows he should further examine why he felt so safe, but for the moment he chooses not to.

The sensation of soft, wet lips jerks Tony violently from his thoughts, causing him to inhale sharply. He'd managed to distance himself from his physical reaction of Harry's touch on the scars only to have Harry drag him back to it brutally with his mouth. Tony opens his eyes, looking down to see Harry trailing kisses over the scars around the arc reactor, green eyes darting up at him from time to time as he did so. Tony's breath starts to pick up a little, but Harry keeps himself to loving little kisses. Finally stopping after placing one last kiss right in the center of the bright light, then straightening up to face Tony. Harry's voice is soft when he speaks. "Tell me what happened?"

For a few heartbeats Tony is lost in Harry's oh so green gaze, then he slowly nods. Clearing his throat Tony turns his face away, but Harry reaches up to gently turn him back. Tony doesn't fight the motion, just begins his story, starting from his leaving England after visiting the golem. Harry listens in silence, with only his body language to give away his feelings from time to time. Tony tells him about the terrorists, about Yinsen, the first Iron Man suit. He tells Harry about the torture, his fears that he would never leave that place, the guilt at having to leave Yinsen's body behind. He tells Harry about coming home, about Rhodey and Pepper, and Jarvis. About Stane's betrayal and Stark Industries role in the weapons caches around the world. He softly tells him about the Palladium poisoning, about Vanko and his fight with Rhodey.

Reluctantly, Tony tells Harry about his romance with Pepper, not able to meet green eyes as he explains how confused and torn up about all of it he was. Pepper, Afghanistan, everything. With Harry in a coma, and Pepper warm, available and there for Tony. How she made it all bearable some days, how she kept him sane.

How he'd drop her in a hot minute if only Harry would wake up.

He trails off, not having anything else to say, and afraid to look at Harry. Despite Harry being in a coma, and this one being an illusion created by his subconscious need to see and talk to the other man. Tony still felt that he was somehow betraying the only man he has ever loved. Even if logic stated otherwise.

Harry does not speak for a few minutes as he tries to absorb everything Tony just told him. His mind whirling from one emotion to the next. He is unbelievably angry; at the Ten Rings, at Stane, at all the suffering Tony had to deal with before he got home. He's eternally grateful to this Yinsen, and perturbed with Rhodey.

Harry doesn't know how he feels about Pepper. He still hates her, still wants to leave her bloody and broken somewhere remote for the scavengers to pick at her remains, and the maggots to consume her treacherous flesh.

But!

But...she did help, and believed in Tony, protected him when Harry could not.

He still hates her, but she was the only one in a position to give Tony support and comfort, and Harry would not be returning to Earth for another two years. Pepper had proven through her own actions that she would do anything be near Tony. She would always side with him over anyone else.

Slowly Harry lets out a long breath as he forces himself to accept the situation. Tony was not in the wrong, hell, even Pepper in this situation, was not in the wrong. It still burned Harry to his very core. Pulling himself from his musings, he sees that Tony is still waiting for the axe to fall, and Harry feels a little stab of pain bloom in his heart. Tony is expecting Harry to lash out at him, to maybe reject him after all of that. It hurt Harry's heart to see it.

He reaches up to gently cup Tony's face, his lips meeting the other man's in a soft sweet kiss. At first Tony is hesitant, and Harry coaxes him into the motion, tongue skimming his bottom lip lightly until Tony opens his mouth to Harry, inviting him in. Letting himself sink into the sensations, Harry continues to kiss Tony. Making love to his mouth until Tony was moaning and eagerly pressing back. Tony's arms snake around Harry's waist, pulling him more firmly against his body. Before things can spiral any further Harry pulls his mouth away, taking in the dazed expression on Tony's face. Blown pupils, his wet bruised lips. It makes Harry shiver. It's been too long since they were intimate with each other. Harry missed being with Tony desperately.

However, now is not the time.

Gently Harry pets Tony's hair until they were both a bit calmer, though the arousal doesn't go away. It just simmers on low between them, ready to spark again at a moment's notice. "I'm sorry Tony, that you had to go through all of that. I'm sorry they hurt you, that Stane betrayed you. That he tried to murder you. I'm...glad...that Pepper was there for you. That somebody was. I'm sorry that I wasn't. As for now...I'm going to wake up Tony. I'm going to come home. Please...please don't marry that woman, don't give her your babies. I swear I'm coming back to Earth as fast as I can. I'll come find you as soon as I do. I swear it. I know you don't believe me now...Please ...give me that at least. Two years and six months. If I haven't come back to you by then…" Harry shook his head, unable to fathom the scenario.

Tony searches Harry's pleading eyes, and finds himself nodding despite the protests of his rational mind. Two years and six months. That was a long time, but Tony would find a way to deal with it. He wasn't ready for marriage or babies yet anyway. In fact the idea of Pepper, babies and marriage rather alarmed him. He'd always promised himself if he ever got married it would only be once, for better or worse. Tony had no intention of marrying a second time. "Alright Harry. I'll wait. You're right, I don't believe that this...place… is real, but if there is a chance you are telling me the truth, I'll wait."

Harry gives him a sad but loving smile, so Tony changes the subject. "Before, you said there were things you couldn't tell me when we were younger. Can you tell me about any of that? The things you couldn't tell me before?"

Harry shifts his gaze away, not to avoid Tony, but to consider his options and where to start. "It's not a short story, and it's really very complicated. Some of it I know you're not going to believe. But, you deserve to know, and in two years and six months, you'll see that I'm real. Then you might believe me. So, I'll start at the beginning of everything. The start of my first life, on a different Earth from this one."

Harry looks up, catching Tony's incredulous expression and huffs a bitter laugh, mostly to himself. Tony thought he was completely barmy but that was alright. Time would fix everything, so long as Tony kept his word to wait.

"You're right Harry...already I don't believe you. Your first life? That's more far fetched for me than the alien thing. That at least, I can rationalize, but multiple lives?"

Harry reaches out to gently cover Tony's mouth again to silence him before he could really get going. "I know you won't believe Tony, but hush and just listen. You did ask me. Just remember what I'm telling you. In two years and six months, maybe you'll have reason to believe me a little more when I come back."

Tony reluctantly nods and Harry begins his story in a soft voice, his thoughts drifting far away as he remembered. "I was born July 31st 1981, in a little village named Godric's Hollow, in England. My name was Harry James Potter and my parents were Lily Ann Potter and James Charles Potter. We weren't like other families. We were different, special from your everyday person. We were Wizards. When I was born, there was a Prophecy proclaiming I would defeat a great and evil Dark Wizard who declared himself a Dark Lord ..."

Harry continued speaking softly for several hours, weathering Tony's questions as he went as best Harry could. Digging his up past pain and traumas for Tony to examine, showing him both his failures and his triumphs. Explaining the Wizarding World in such detail that Harry would have gotten himself thrown to the Dementors if the Statuette of Secrecy were still a factor. He told Tony about their civil war, about his adult life married to Ginny, about his children, who weren't his but he loved them anyway.

Harry told Tony about his death, and meeting Death, about his rebirth. He described his Valkyrie mother, before she took her own life, leaving Harry alone, but setting him up with watchers and adoptive parents. He told Tony about his life before meeting him, and about the school years they were separated.

He told Tony about the secret lessons with Kiran and Meloth while he was taking a double major at MIT. He spoke with reluctance about the hell he went through when he began remembering his past life's childhood. The nightmares, and his paranoia. And the eating disorder he struggled with because every time he saw food he would flash back to the Dursleys and feel so ill. Remembering how they had starved him and made gluttons of themselves. He told Tony how he and Rhodey were the only things that kept him grounded, kept him from completely losing it.

He told him about Pepper, how from the beginning of their first meeting they were rivals vying for Tony's attention, even though Tony had already been Harry's at that time. She still discreetly made threats to Harry's position at Tony's side. How he felt he had to constantly make her keep her distance. Tony was not pleased by that revelation. Everyone knew about the conflict between Pepper and Harry and no one saw fit to tell him about it. Harry told him that didn't matter anymore. Harry had not wanted Tony to lose a friend that meant so much to him over what he felt was his own petty jealousy. How it didn't matter anymore because it was in the past.

He left out the part about the senior Stark's murder, and Pepper's blackmail, not wanting to destroy Tony's current happiness with the woman. He would need her until Harry was back on Earth.

Harry continued with his story and told Tony more about his people. He told Tony about their physiology, their culture, their beliefs, their mating habits. Though he did not yet Tell Tony that he was Harry's mate. That conversation needed to happen in person.

Then he told Tony about Gemini and what he was doing to improve their lives in more technical detail than he had before. The genetic leaps he was making to try and boost his people's flagging fertility. Harry told Tony that he has searched out ways to tweak the genetics in human mates to make them stronger, faster, live longer. So their Valkyrie partners wouldn't lose them as often. He told Tony about the human women that are mated to Valkyries, and how none of their babes survive beyond birth. Because the women could not produce the protective egg needed for the babies to finish developing. So instead Harry keeps looking at ways to artificially support the fetuses, or somehow have the Valkyrie partner carry the baby through implantation. How frightened he is if the world's various governments should they somehow discover his people while they were so vulnerable.

While Harry spoke about his people and his life Tony asked question after question. The man was ruthless and detail oriented. Tony wanted to know everything, and Harry gave him as much as he could. Until finally Harry runs out of things to say. Harry is exhausted, his throat burns from overuse, and he cannot think of anything else to tell Tony. His mind foggy, he rests his head against Tony's shoulder in silence, letting the man process the massive load of information. Eventually Harry dozes off, leaving Tony to his contemplations.


	14. In The Realm of The Senses

**Hello again my lovelies! First I want to thank everyone for their patience and support during my absence! As you can see I was able to post this new Chapter for you. I am back, kinda. Updates will be slow for the time being as I juggle a few things in my personal life as well as trying to write. Thankfully I believe things will continue to settle down. Please pay attention to all Tags and Warnings for each Chapter that is put up. Chapters like this are the reason why I have them! Love to you all!** **  
** **~ Belle** **  
** **  
** **A/N:** _Warning for language and graphic slash sex. That means sex between two men. Don't like it, please read something else. Also a_ ** _MAJOR WARNING_** _for some_ _BDSM._ _This includes D/s games, rough sex, choking, mild bondage, and mild breeding kink._

 _I'm sorry if this is not your cup of tea, but this was factored in before I even started writing this story. It will not change, I will not tolerate flames on it. However, this sort of play will not color every sex scene within the story._

 _This chapter also takes place within Harry's or Lotus's mind. Kinda like a dreamscape, so not everything will be perfectly accurate._

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For a long time, Tony simply holds Harry while he rests against him, and thinks about the magnitude of the information Harry has presented to him. Tony was not a religious man, but Harry claimed there are multiple gods scattered around many universes. Primals, Roman, Grecian Norse, and so many more unmentioned. His claims that, Harry himself, was closely connected to one, the Death entity, specifically. Pushing aside his difficulty in believing such a being actually existed for the moment, Tony snorts softly to himself. Mentally picturing the reaction of most of Earth's monotheistic religions going completely nuts if they ever came across undeniable proof of Harry's claims. Gods that were according to Harry, for the most part only highly advanced alien races overwhelming and dazzling, ignorant primitive man. Tony didn't have much of an opinion one way or another at this point. Too many weird things happen in his life for him to dismiss Harry's words as untrue out of hand.

Still, the idea was...perception altering.

If Gods were real, even as Alien Races rather than Divine Mystical beings, then why couldn't magic be real as well?

Tony struggled silently with the concept. He did not like the idea of magic. It was too wild, too unpredictable. He couldn't control it or understand it. It seemed to be the opposite of everything Tony held faith in. Science was logical, precise. It had rules and laws that could sometimes be bent or manipulated. Some Tony had found, could be broken. But overall, it was easily understandable to him. Like a unique language; different Science disciplines were simply different dialects stemming from the same mother language at their root. Acknowledging magic as valid seemed somehow a betrayal of a system that had been so generous to him all of his life. Without science to focus on, Tony felt sure his highly intelligent brain would have turned on him a long time ago. Whether out of frustration, boredom or self-hatred who knew? Tony had spiraled into some dark places in his lifetime emotionally.

Huffing softly to himself under his breath, Tony shoves those thoughts away. Those times were in the past and not really helpful to the situation at hand. He turns his attention back to the dilemma he was wrestling with.

Magic. Was. Real.

According to Harry.

Who also, may or may not be a figment of his vivid imagination.

Tony still half believed this version of Harry was simply a collection of odd bits of information that his drunken synapsis' had thrown together after he'd passed out somewhere. Resulting in this oh so delightfully baffling scenario. But again, that was a whole other complicated problem he was not ready to make a decision about at this time. One reality destroying problem at a time.

Back to magic.

As he mulled this new bit of information over, Tony decided to move on from trying to simply accept it for now and instead turned his thoughts to figuring out how it fit in with the rest of existence. Everything in life was in some kind of balance, even if most people were unaware of this balance, it was still there. Science had proven this time and again over the years, even before Tony's arrival into the world.

Everything had a counterbalance. Tony had always thought the counterbalance to Science was Art. Creative mind vs. logical mind. But now he wondered if the counterbalance wasn't magic instead. Or maybe magic fell into the Art category? No. That couldn't be entirely right. Harry said that while a large part of magic was intuitive, creating new spells was taxing, precise, and logical. An endeavor that could take an entire lifetime of study to accomplish depending on what the effects were trying to be created. The creator had to follow certain rules within various disciplines for a new spell to come into being correctly. However, there again was that intuitive magic, or wild magic. There were just too many variables, so Tony scrapped the idea of magic being a counterbalance to Science, or a missing piece of the Art field.

Magic seemed to be a full-bodied entity all in and of itself. Alright, he could tentatively accept that. However, where did it fit in with the rest of reality as Tony knew it? On Harry's version of Earth, back in his first lifetime, magic had been hidden away from the non-magically talented. Those gifted with the ability were only a small percentage of the world's overall human population. Which meant it was genetic. Passed down through families as a recessive gene in most cases. The exceptions being the Purebloods that Harry mentioned. Even within this small group, there were issues. Infertility had apparently become a threatening problem as new generations came into being with a shrinking Pureblood genetic pool. Add in their rampant prejudice against the 'muggleborns' and you have a looming societal Armageddon.

Obviously, Purebloods were complete morons. Gene diversity was a simple concept. Even children knew what it was in at least a basic censored way.

Harry's sarcastic tone of voice when discussing them before indicated his opinion of them was much in line with Tony's own. Harry's Wizarding World had isolated itself so thoroughly from events going on around them that the failing of their culture and way of life was only a matter of time. Science could have saved them, but only if they had let go of their hatred, which many had been unwilling to do at the time that Harry was there.

Reincarnation was another issue that Tony finds himself struggling with, mostly because the concept of a 'soul' was hard for him to visualize. Tony finds himself unable to deny that Harry is very convincing, despite Tony's personal misgivings. Too many details, too much real emotion. Either Harry was absolutely insane and utterly delusional, or...or this may have really happened. And if that was real, then Harry being an alien was also likely real. Tony stares blankly at the living room wall as the weight of this realization settled over him. Suppose...that Tony let himself believe that Harry was a real alien. Then that meant Harry really was traveling on a ship to somewhere just beyond Pluto. It meant that Harry was coming home in two and a half years. It meant Harry was going to wake up and come back to him. Just like he said he would. The issue of magic could wait on the back burner. Tony realized it was not something he was going to resolve internally anytime soon.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Tony shakes his head, brushing the ridiculous thoughts away. Tony couldn't afford to let himself fully believe that yet. He could allow himself to hope cautiously, but that was all. His logical, rational mind would not agree with his heart on this. Harry might come back, or he might not. Everything was still undetermined as far as Tony was concerned. All of this was terribly difficult to take seriously though Tony badly wanted to. He'd wait the time Harry asked him for, but until then, Tony would not form an opinion.

He would check out the golem's body, no matter how much the idea made him uncomfortable. Tony needed proof, and Harry had given him permission...kinda. He wasn't going to look too deeply into the logistics of that one, considering approval was given to him by what he thought was a hallucination. Tony resolves himself to researching the hell out of everything once he had access to Jarvis again. Truthfully Tony does not expect to find much, but it would give him something to do in his free time while he waited.

Until then, Tony decides he is going to enjoy the time he has with Harry now. Especially if this was all a drunken induced hallucination. Which brought up a whole new host of oddities that Tony has noticed since waking up in this strange place. Hours had passed, and nothing outside of the shift in daylight had changed. Neither of them had become hungry or had the urge to use the bathroom. Tony sure as hell hadn't woken up to find himself back in Stark Tower, and this hallucination seemed like it was taking too long.

However, Tony did not know what else to call it, and they couldn't escape the house, or even phone out for help. The whole thing was simply confusing. Harry wasn't any more knowledgeable about their situation than Tony was. So it would seem that for now, they were left to their own devices, until they either figured out the point of them being stuck here, or they were released. Tony really hated that idea. Hated feeling trapped and unable to move about as he pleased. Usually, being stuck somewhere meant something unpleasant was going to happen to him.

It made him twitchy.

Firmly Tony turned his thoughts away from that track. It led nowhere good. He would only drive himself up a wall venturing down that line of thinking. Instead, he turns his attention to Harry, who was sprawled out in Tony's lap. Boneless and content, a living breathing blanket of warmth and soft feathers. The slender man's eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell gently, indicating he had fallen asleep or was very near sleep.

Tony rests his chin on top of Harry's mop of black hair, eyes wandering over the expanse of wing feathers covering the both of them. Tony might have called them ridiculous earlier, but the truth was they were stunningly beautiful. They fascinated him. How did a Valkyrie fly with such large heavy wings? Their bones weren't hollow like a bird's, and the wings were attached wrong to physically hold their weight. Still, Harry says he can fly. That he loves flying when he can find the time and somewhere away from prying human eyes. Maybe it was more of that magic Harry says they use to hide them from the humans around them.

Curiously, Tony raises a hand and reaches out to stroke along one wing, finding the feathers to be incredibly pleasant to touch. Harry hums quietly against Tony's neck, showing he was a little more awake and aware then Tony had thought him to be. Harry's breath lightly tickles Tony's neck a little as Tony sinks his fingers between the feathers and runs his hand through them. Slowly the one wing stretches out to the side, light glinting of sleek black feathers, giving Tony more space to explore. He does this for several minutes, taking note of the little shivers it causes in Harry, but not paying them much attention since the other man did not complain.

Shifting a little so Tony could use his other hand to toy gently with the feathers where they connected to Harry's bare back. Harry hums under his breath again, shamelessly arching a bit in a wordless request for continued attention. Tony willingly complies with the silent demand for more petting, a tiny smile quirking his lips. Tony closes his own eyes in contentment for a while as he continues to caress the Valkyrie's wings, pulling soft little noises of appreciation from Harry's throat. The sounds were strange to Tony's ears. Not human. A soft rumble made low in the throat. Not quite purring like a cat would, the pitch was wrong, as was the rhythm, but it was the closest thing Tony could relate it to. It was terribly cute, regardless of its strangeness to Tony's ears. He thought that he could easily get used to it. It was rather soothing in its own way.

It's not until Harry starts squirming in his lap, and arching his wings more firmly into Tony's stroking hands that he opens his eyes again, curious what the other was doing. Tony blinks in slight surprise noticing both wings spread out before him in what struck Tony as a rather submissive pose. Tony pauses in his petting and raises one hand to gently cup Harry's face. Turning his delicate features from the crook of Tony's neck so the billionaire could get a better read on his expression. To Tony's mild surprise, Harry peeks up at him shyly through his dark lashes, silver/green eyes alight, pupils blown a little wider than normal. A faint flush stains his cheekbones, and he was self-consciously nibbling on his lower lip. Tony feels a sharp bolt of heat slither through his belly at the sight.

Tony's eyes drop instinctively to Harry's lap to find him already half erect, the black lounge pants Harry wore doing nothing to disguise the problem. Tony softly draws in a sharp breath, raising his eyes once more as Harry nuzzles into the hand still resting on his cheek. Silver/green eyes flash at Tony playfully when their gaze connects. Tony watches in captivated fascination as a pink tongue darts out to swipe a teasing lick across Tony's palm. Without giving it a second thought, Tony surges forward to capture that tempting mouth in a hungry kiss, pulling Harry closer against him. Harry goes willingly, making soft little submissive sounds in his throat that were skyrocketing Tony's own arousal. But then, it never had taken much of anything for Harry to turn Tony on. Tony quickly found himself dominating the kiss, his fingers tightening in Harry's braid as his tongue stroked Harry's. Tony groans low in his throat when he feels Harry's hips shifting lightly against his own. In retaliation he drags his fingers through Harry's wing feathers again, ripping a desperate moan from Harry and a harsher roll of his hips.

Tony reluctantly breaks the kiss to breathe, leaving Harry panting harshly against his neck. He chuckles, nipping at Harry's ear before he boldly reaches down and slides his hand into the front of Harry's pants. Grasping Harry's hard cock, Tony thumbs at the head, teasingly spreading the slick there over the tip in a circular motion. Harry lets his head fall back, eyes closed as he arches into Tony's touch, trying to get more friction. Tony moves with the motion instead, giving Harry only enough to torment him, not to satisfy. Tony leans in to brush his teeth against Harry's neck, a brief warning before pressing them down into a bite. Harry's hips jerk harshly in Tony's hold, a loud cry tearing itself from the green-eyed man's lips. Harry's hands, which until now had been clasped behind Tony's neck, finally move. One grips Tony's shoulder to help steady himself as Harry brings the other down into Tony's lap, rubbing him through the grey material of his pants. Letting go of Harry's neck with his teeth, Tony groans, reflexively tightening his hold on Harry's dick, pulling another delicious noise from him.

Tony watches as the mark he left on Harry's throat fades away. Curious, he leans forward to bite again. Harry eagerly presses into Tony's teeth, finally forming soft, breathy words. "God Tony, I love when you do that…"

Humming in pleasure at the response, Tony shifts his mouth to a different spot on Harry's neck and sinks his teeth in again. A bit harder this time, as he slides his fingers down from teasing the head of Harry's erection to the hot feminine part of him just below it. Harry's hands slide up into Tony's hair, gripping tightly just as Tony slides his fingers deep into the slick folds of the female part of the Valkyrie in his lap. The action wrenches a guttural, filthy moan from Harry's mouth. Grinning to himself, Tony gently strokes with his fingers. Spreading them out to gently nudge Harry's thighs further apart to give him more room to work. Harry moves smoothly where Tony wants him without protest, eager to have more of Tony's hands on him. Turning his head, Harry captures Tony's mouth in a slow, wet kiss, pushing his hips down onto Tony's fingers inside of him. Tony's a little startled to find just how much of Harry's hot slick was gathered between his slim thighs.

Tony moans softly, breaking the delicious slide of his lip lock with Harry, planting a kiss against Harry's ear as he growls. "Holy fuck Harry...you're soaking wet."

Harry whimpers in return, pressing into Tony's hand again, his voice breathy with desire. "Tony…"

Harry can feel the slow build of heat inside of him, and it leaves him searching for more. Tony's hand is doing wonderfully wicked things, stroking and teasing him inside and out. It was delightful torture, but Harry knew he wouldn't be able to tolerate it for too much longer. It had been too long since he'd had Tony in any carnal sense. Years too long. It was like his body had suddenly woken up from hibernation, raging and starving for Tony's attention. He's never held more than a mild, quickly passing attraction to anyone else over the years, and truthfully Harry had been too busy with his people to pay the fact much attention. Now, though, now it seemed to be coming back to him double. Tony really wasn't doing much, but it still left over sensitive Harry shivery and burning up in the other man's arms.

Expertly Tony continues to caress and stroke, panting harshly against Harry's neck as the Valkyrie wantonly rode Tony's fingers. He moved his fingers in time with Harry's rolling hips, deeply enjoying the faint tremble of excitement in Harry's thighs against him. Every time Harry would tighten around those fingers Tony would groan, picturing his aching cock there instead. Despite the long time they had spent together in the past, Harry had never let Tony penetrate him that way. Vaginal sex had been clearly marked from the beginning as not an option on offer. Harry had never permitted Tony more vaginal penetration than this, or the occasional use of a toy. It hadn't stopped them from having fantastic anal sex, both happily giving or receiving, but damn had it frustrated Tony at times. However, for the time being watching Harry fall apart with Tony using just his fingers was enjoyable enough. It helped too, that each time Harry rolled his hips to pull Tony's stroking fingers deeper into himself, he was rubbing his hard cock against Tony's.

Tony was anticipating Harry hitting his peak shortly when the green eyed man suddenly grabbed Tony's wrist, pulling it away from his body and out of his lounge pants. Confused, but obedient, Tony removes his hand without protest, curious what Harry was going to do next. He watches in silence as Harry removes himself from Tony's lap completely, standing and taking a couple of steps back. Flashing Tony a shy but flirty smile after making sure he has Tony's full attention, Harry's spreads his wings open to their glorious full length. Arching them in an attractive pose and fluffing the feathers a little to make the light glitter off of the iridescent green underside. At first, Tony isn't sure what to make of the show, getting slowly to his feet from the carpeted floor to buy himself a little bit of time to think. Sharp blue eyes sweep over the admittedly beautiful appendages, and appreciatively over Harry's half naked form, carefully inspecting them as he cautiously steps closer. Silver/green eyes follow Tony's movements intently. Harry shifts minutely in time with Tony to give the billionaire the best angle in which to view his wings and body from.

Tony's eyes greedily take in the slender, muscled form standing still in front of him. Harry would never be a hugely muscled or built man. The Valkyrie had more of a swimmer's build. All long legs and tight body. Fit, but not bulging. The tattoos added a new layer to the overall effect. Harry's lips were lightly bruised and puffy from being kissed. Glistening just a bit from where the Valkyrie had licked his lips, giving them a faint wet sheen. Tony had a brief flash of those wonderful lips stretched around his cock and had to suppress a moan. One thing Tony had always loved about Harry was his complete willingness to get on his knees whenever Tony asked. Harry loved sucking cock, and he was fantastic at it as far as Tony's opinion went. Tony could truthfully say that while he had met women that were very talented in this area over the years, Harry blew them all away. He was enthusiastic, willing to experiment, willing to submissive or be aggressive as the mood took them, and genuinely loved doing it, which made all the difference.

Forcing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Tony turns his attention back to the enticing body in front of him and away from erotic memories. The black lounge pants were loosely hanging from Harry's hip bones, which Tony desperately wanted to leave bite marks on, did nothing to conceal the beautiful curve of Harry's full erection beneath the fabric. Combined with Harry's gorgeous long hair, slightly mussed from their passion earlier and the British man could easily pass as a model damned near anywhere in the professional world, as far as Tony was concerned.

Tony blinks as a low cooing sound reaches his ears. Not the same tone one would use with an infant, but a pitch that brought to mind submissive inquiry. A coaxing sound. Tony offers the Valkyrie a little smile, unsure what response Harry was trying to elicit from him at this point. Harry seemed to be retreating into his alien side, rather than the human Tony was accustomed to seeing. It didn't put him off, though it made him a little cautious. Harry was frankly fascinating and unsettling in odd turns. It kept Tony curious, hungry for more of him, both sexually and intellectually.

Harry visibly preens at Tony's show of interest, and Tony suddenly catches on. Harry was displaying for him, like a bird would to another it was interested in. Harry's odd cooing noise was about Tony's interest in the display. Pushing his amusement aside, suspecting it wouldn't be well received at the moment, Tony makes a point of blatantly looking Harry up and down again. He moves to stand in front of the Valkyrie, reaching out one hand to lightly run his fingertip over Harry's stomach. Tony watches as the muscles twitch in response to his touch. He slides his hand up slowly to the hollow of Harry's collarbone, then moves to tilt Harry's chin up so Tony can kiss him softly on the mouth. Tony keeps the kiss brief, affectionate.

He feels Harry's mouth part in submissive invitation under his lips, but disregards the unspoken invite. Instead, Tony licks Harry's bottom lip and pulls back. Ignoring the green-eyed man's soft noise of protest, he moves to the Valkyrie's neck. Biting him with his blunt teeth, none too gently. He feels Harry jerk under his teeth with a deep moan, tipping his head to the side to give Tony more delicious skin to work with. Tony wetly slides his lips to another spot on Harry's neck, nipping lightly, in contrast to his earlier actions. A soft rustle briefly catches his attention. Flicking his gaze up towards the noise, Tony notes that Harry's wings are trembling just the faintest bit, but the Valkyrie continues to hold the displaying wing pose. Silently Tony wonders why. _Was Tony not showing enough interest? Or perhaps he was missing a specific cue?_

Tony considers it while he slides his hands down Harry's body to his hips. Then slips his hands into the black lounge pants and cups Harry's bottom in his palms. He gives them a rough squeeze as he bites down on Harry's shoulder, pulling the slender man against his body. Harry bucks in his hands, crying out in pleasure as he wraps his arms around Tony's neck and rolls his hips against Tony's equally hard erection. Causing the man to moan in reply. Tony squeezes Harry's cheeks again before taking one hand out of Harry's pants. Gripping Harry's thigh instead and pulling one leg up a little to wrap around his hip.

Harry eagerly followed the motion, turning his face towards Tony's. Searching out Tony's lips for a kiss as his arms tightened around Tony's neck for balance. Tony happily allows himself to be caught, nipping the Valkyrie's bottom lip before gently dominating his mouth. While keeping Harry's mind occupied with his mouth, Tony shifts his grip to slide his right hand down a little bit further. With Harry positioned like this, and the lounge pants being a little loose, it gives Tony room to slide a fingertip down Harry's parted cheeks to his hole. Rubbing lightly up and down before circling the little rosebud, having no intention of attempting dry penetration, simply teasing. Harry's reaction is beautiful as he messily breaks the kiss, panting Tony's name softly as he tried to arch back into the intimate touch. Unfortunately, this position gave Tony control of Harry's movements, and all Harry accomplished was a whine of frustration when he couldn't maneuver how he wished.

Smiling in amusement despite himself, Tony plants a kiss on Harry's cheek and jokingly gives what he thought was a playful command. "No, Harry. "

Typically Harry brushes such a thing off. Their relationship had always been one of equal exchange, with neither one taking a more dominate or submissive stand. Everything was based on what they felt at the moment, so Tony was unsurprised when Harry pouts at him. However, when Harry doesn't protest, instead merely settles himself back into reluctant stillness, it causes Tony to blink in mild startlement. He wonders at Harry's submissive attitude this time around. Harry was not normally this passive, this willing to be led. Usually, he was just as aggressive as Tony. But, this time felt different. It felt like Tony was missing a cue somewhere and he wasn't sure where to look for it.

Tony was still unsure how much of this was truly Harry, and how much of this was the Valkyrie. He was having trouble meshing the two in his mind. He decides to take a mental step back for a few seconds. Having Harry wrapped around him like this was distracting for obvious reasons. With this thought in mind, he places another soft kiss on Harry's mouth and gently detangles the both of them. Sliding Harry's leg back down and removing his hand from Harry's backside. Harry sighs softly but releases his arms from around Tony's neck, settling back into the displaying position he had held before Tony put his hands on him. Again without any real protest. Keeping sharp eyes on Harry while his thoughts raced, Tony takes a couple of steps away and circles around behind Harry.

Now paying much closer attention to his partner, Tony notices how Harry watches him from the corner of his eye just as attentively. In silence, Tony searches for body language clues to what it is Harry is asking from him. Tony hasn't had to slip into this particular mindset for several years, but he finds the fit immediately familiar and comfortable. He was still uncertain what game Harry was trying to coax him into if that was indeed, what he was attempting to do.

Curious, Tony reaches out to Harry's hair, gently tangling his fingers in the dark locks and tugging sharply. Harry just closes his eyes and follows the direction of Tony's tug, making a content hum to let Tony know he was happy to do so. Tony tilts his head a bit in consideration, loosening his grip in Harry's hair to run his short nails down the back of the Valkyrie's neck as he thought. Absently running his fingers down the tattooed spine to the card through the smaller hypersensitive feathers nearest the skin of Harry's bare back.

Harry shudders, wings dropping from their presenting arc into an unquestionably submissive posture. Tony pauses in his stroking of the smaller more sensitive feathers, quickly taking in the swift change of pose and wondering what had caused it. _Could Harry simply not hold the position any longer?_ Those heavy wings had to be difficult to hold in such a way for an extended period of time. Tony had noted a fine tremor in the feathers beforehand. But perhaps that wasn't it either. Harry's head was bowed, eyes gazing down at the carpet instead of at Tony, though he was clearly very aware of the other.

Tony steps forward, reaching out again to stroke those soft feathers, dropping his mouth to Harry's shoulder. Peppering it in sharp little nips while watching Harry shiver under his touch. After a few moments, Harry cautiously leans back against Tony's chest, green eyes darting up briefly to check such an action was alright. Tony makes no complaint, more than willing to see where this strange dance between them was going. Tony was flying off intuition and reading Harry's submissive body language at this point, but he knew soon he would have to stop this and ask Harry some serious questions before he was willing to move forward with this sort of play. Tony wanted to be absolutely clear on what it was Harry was asking of him. Tony knew what he was thinking of Harry's cues, but he wanted to be sure Harry was thinking along the same lines.

When Harry leans back against him, Tony slides a hand from Harry's back to his chest instead. Thumbing a nipple roughly with his nail, causing Harry to take in a sharp breath. Tony groans softly when Harry teasingly grinds his ass into the front of Tony's pants. Purposely teasing his half hard dick and derailing his thought processes for the moment. Tony makes a mental note that while Harry was willingly submissive for him right now, he was still a mischievous little cock-tease. Tony closes his eyes for a few heartbeats, letting himself enjoy the friction of Harry grinding his delicious little bottom against him. When Tony went to grab Harry's hips with the intent of pulling Harry more firmly against his reawakened erection, the little minx slips suddenly away out of his grasp. Tony makes an irritated noise of frustration as he opens his eyes, narrowing them at Harry, who had taken a couple of steps away from Tony's body. Briefly, he entertains the thought of tossing Harry over the arm of the couch and spanking his pert teasing bottom until it was a lovely blush pink.

Oblivious to Tony's thoughts, Harry grins cheekily over his shoulder at him. Before Tony can make up his mind on how to respond to the defiant gesture, Harry raises his hands to wiggle his fingers at him. Successfully catching his partner's curious attention, Harry then drops them to his hips, pleased when Tony's blue eyes followed. Playfully Harry lets his fingers tease along the edge of his black lounge pants. With a showy little roll of his hips, Harry slides them down his thighs, then down and off. Leaving himself completely nude for Tony's viewing pleasure. Purposely showing off his bottom with a little wiggle as he bends down, then tosses them away carelessly. He can feel the heat of Tony's gaze of his skin the entire time. Straightening up, Harry eyes Tony coyly from over his shoulder, the tilt of his chin clearly defiant, silver/green eyes glinting in a blunt challenge.

Instantly Tony is on him, roughly grabbing Harry's wrists and pulling them sharply behind his back in a tight grip before he can really think about or censor his first emotional response. Harry moans happily and pushes back into Tony's bruising grip, confirming the man's half-formed suspicions at how Harry wanted to play this. With his free hand, Tony harshly yanks the hair tie from the end of Harry's braid, looping it firmly about the Valkyrie's wrists. He checks that it wasn't tight enough to cut off circulation, but was snug enough to leave marks, and for Harry to feel it each time he moved his arms. It wasn't enough to stop Harry from getting loose if he wanted to, but it gave the impression of being restrained. Which Harry was all for, if the way he rolls his wrists to test it, and then hummed softly in contentment, was any indication.

Resting his hands on Harry's bare hips firmly, Tony leans forward to murmur in Harry's ear, his tone no nonsense. "How far do you want this to go, Harry? I need some kind of idea what you're needing or wanting."

Harry hums softly, leaning his head back on Tony's shoulder and nuzzling into the man's cheek, his voice slow, rough, like he was searching carefully for the words coming out of his mouth. Or he was having difficulty making himself talk. Tony made a mental note to keep an eye on that.

"Dominate me, Tony. Hurt me a little, " Harry gave a little hot breathy sigh directly into Tony's ear as he continued to speak, grinding his ass firmly into Tony's very interested dick. "You can punish me if you want. Oh, please say you'll punish me? You will, won't you Tony? Please?"

Harry lightly licks Tony's jaw line, his voice low and dark with promise. "Anything you want Tony, you can take it. You don't have to ask. I'll let you know if I don't like something."

Tony lets out a harsh breath, his cock jumping at the thought. Various ideas flying through his mind simultaneously as his hands loosened a little on Harry's hips, giving him more room to rub against Tony's crotch. Dropping his eyes down, Tony can plainly see just how excited Harry was. The Valkyrie was at full mast, clear liquid pearled at his flushed tip and slowly leaking down the shaft. Tony brings one of his hands down, using his thumb to tease the head of Harry's cock in a slow circular motion. It causes Harry to suck in a surprised breath, his hips stuttering in their movement against Tony. Absently Tony squeezed the one hip to encourage Harry to move again as his thoughts raced.

This was new; they've never played a game like this before. Not together at least. Tony was very familiar with the basic etiquette, having crossed into this type of playground more than once with various women. He was a little shaky on how certain things might go with a male partner versus the female ones he was more used to, but Tony was certain he could quickly figure it out as he went. He wondered if Harry had previous playmates, as well if the other man knew what he was asking Tony for.

Uncertain of Harry's level of exposure, Tony decides to start off lightly and proceed from there, unwilling to kill the mood by playing twenty questions. He would just have to wing it, and pay very close attention to Harry's reactions. Obviously, the other man enjoyed a bit of pain, which Tony was already well aware of. Harry had always enjoyed biting and a little bit of rough handling, but they'd never taken it further than that. "Are you sure about this Harry? This isn't something I indulge in very often with someone. There has to be a serious level of trust, communication and discretion."

Harry is certain, so certain that he straightens up from leaning against Tony. He bows his head and cast his eyes down to the floor. His voice is demure, but firm, with none of his previous playful teasing. "Please Sir, do with me what you will."

Tony feels fire sear through him at the confirmation. Harry adopting one of the traditional submissive poses sparks lightning in his gut and slowly spreads through his veins. If Harry was up for this kind of play, then Tony was more than willing to provide whatever Harry needed. "Give me a safeword Harry, let's start with that. "

Harry gives a slight nod of his head, indicating that he understood Tony. His voice was steady and calm as he immediately answers. "Yes, Sir. Can we use the stoplight system? Red. Yellow. Green. Are you familiar with it?"

Harry's answer makes Tony blink, and side eye the other man, mentally questioning again whether or not Harry has done this before, but he doesn't ask. Instead, he just nods in affirmative, making sure Harry sees it. Tony gently pulls on Harry's arm to turn him around, so they were facing one another. Smoothly Tony slips from his normally gentle and sensual bedroom voice into one that Harry's never heard before, the look in his blue eyes shifting with it. Something dark, and commanding slips into place like a second skin. Tony could admit, if only in the privacy of his own mind, that he had missed playing the occasional power game with a partner. Not many of the women he had spent the night with were openly into these sorts of games. He's had to very careful, and discreet when searching out women of similar taste.

"On your knees," Tony commands softly. His tone velvet over steel, as his gaze covetously travels over Harry's skin. It makes Harry shudder in lust, his flagging arousal swelling in response to the other man. Without a hint of protest, Harry slides down to the carpet, with his head still bowed and hands still tied. His pretty cock lightly bouncing against his stomach as he settles into a steady position.

"Look at me," Tony commands again. Harry lifts his green and silver eyes and looks into Tony's face, boldly meeting Tony's blue eyes.

Tony keeps the smile off his face. Harry was rather fetching like this. "From this moment on you do not touch yourself. You are not allowed to cum unless I tell you to. You are mine to do with as I will. Once I have you, Harry, no one else can. I am your Master, your Sir, and you are my Slave, my pet, my submissive. Do you understand?"

Harry wastes no time and answers Tony. "Yes, Sir."

Tony moves one foot to nudge one of Harry's knees further apart. Giving himself a moment to settle into the appropriate mindset and giving himself the opportunity to admire the sight before him before speaking again. "Whenever I tell you to kneel before me, unless you are sucking my cock, this will be your rest position. Spread your legs further apart. I want to see more of you."

Without a word Harry shifts himself to give Tony what he wants, stopping when Tony gives him a nod of approval. He's unsteady this way, fighting to keep his balance, the weight of his wings tipping him. Tony frowns, seeing this but doesn't comment for the moment. Instead, he leaves Harry there while he strips out of his gray lounge pants, throwing them in the general direction of the sofa. He muses briefly as he does so, that it was a shame they weren't in the tower, where Tony had all sorts of neat toys tucked neatly away in the back of his closet. Tony walks back over to Harry. "We will need to work around your beautiful wings my Pet."

Harry shifts a few more times on his knees to accommodate his wings; Tony watches without saying a word. Once Harry stops moving, he steps closer. "What are your hard limits, Pet? Tell me, what are your likes and dislikes?"

Harry is silent for a few minutes, carefully considering before he answers, "I don't like to be called Boy, Sir. No scat or urine play, I find it personally disgusting. Light bloodplay I don't think I would mind, your come in my mouth and in or on my body is fine. And please Sir, if you need to punish me, I prefer you do not strike me in the face."

Harry hesitates, uncertain how to voice his thoughts, since he was only familiar with watching this sort of play, not personally experiencing it. Tony waits patiently, not rushing or pushing Harry's thought process. He wanted Harry to be truthful, not simply cave to Tony's preferences or impatience. Harry's voice is soft when he speaks again, eyes lowered in embarrassment. "I'm not sure what else...I haven't really...I mean I don't let…" He bites his lip, and finally gets it out. "This is new."

Tony listens to what Harry tells him; they are things he can adhere to, the word Boy is not something he would personally call a sub, but he still wonders why Harry does not like the word. But that will be a conversation for another time. Tony traces a finger on Harry's wings and loves the way his pet shivers. "That's okay Harry. Never be afraid to tell me something like that. In fact, I want you to. It's important for me to know those things, for both of our safety and peace of mind. These games don't work properly without honesty and transparency."

Tony circles around so he can face Harry as he speaks his next words. "You mentioned punishment earlier; I want you to be sure that is what you want right now. That you understand what you're asking me for."

Harry nods. "I understand, Sir. I trust you. I know to use my safe word if I'm really not okay with something."

Tony nods in return and falls silent, taking Harry at his word. Tony steps closer to Harry, his cock at the perfect position for what he has in mind. Tony takes his cock in hand and leisurely draws the tip over Harry's closed mouth, precum coating those bow shaped lips.

"Suck me," Tony orders softly, holding himself firmly in place as Harry opens his mouth, pink tongue darting out to lick at the wet head in a teasing motion. Green eyes glinting with playful mischief. Leaning forward slightly, Harry rubs his slightly parted lips against the sensitive head.

Tony reaches down and grabs Harry's jaw harshly, fingertips digging in hard enough to leave bruises. "I said suck me, not tease. Now open your mouth properly, Pet."

Harry's eyes sparkle in challenge at Tony, and the other man calmly arches an eyebrow in response. Even though Tony was amused by Harry's little defiances, he doesn't allow any of it to show in his action or expression. Tightening his fingers at the jaw joint and forcing Harry's mouth to open.

Harry doesn't bother to fight Tony at that point, having gotten what he wanted out of it. He leans forward eagerly as Tony slides firmly in, the head of his cock lightly bumping the back of Harry's throat. Closing his eyes, Harry ruthlessly suppresses his gag reflex, not unfamiliar with giving head and settles himself into a familiar rhythm. Happily sliding his mouth up and down on Tony's hard dick, pausing now and then to swirl his tongue around the head before going back down. He feels Tony's hand leave his jaw, moving to grip his hair painfully tight instead.

Harry doesn't mind, in fact, he simply tightens his lips around the considerable erection in his mouth, hollowing his cheeks to suck harder. The motion earns Harry an appreciative sigh from his Sir, so Harry shifts the angle of his head just slightly and on the next slide down Tony's cock, Harry forces himself to take the head into his throat. Keeping his throat muscles tight enough that it felt like Tony was forcing his way down though it wasn't truly hurting Harry. There was a burn as the muscles stretched, but Harry enjoyed that, knowing how good it felt for his Sir. Tony's low moan only spurns him on.

Harry's never said anything in the past to Tony, but giving head always seemed to get him going; it was an easy way for Harry to let go and detach from himself. Everything else just seemed to fade away when he focuses his concentration on such a pleasurable task. He loved the taste of Tony, how the weight of his cock felt in Harry's mouth. He loved the burn in his throat when Tony used him, and Harry had never been shy about blowing Tony. In a strange way, it was relaxing for Harry, for lack of a better term. It allowed him to concentrate on the pleasure of his partner, without worrying about himself for a while. Even in his previous life, when he'd been married to Ginny, he'd immensely enjoyed doing this particular act.

At first, Harry doesn't notice when Tony starts thrusting into his mouth, the motion was that smooth. But when Tony jerks his hair, and harshly forces Harry down further on his cock, Harry notices. Kind of difficult not to when the motion was driving Tony's dick roughly down Harry's throat, out of sync with the rhythm he had previously been using. It broke his little bubble of detached calm that he'd been floating in.

Instead of being put off by this, Harry purposefully moans in encouragement, swallowing hard. Tony's hips jerk slightly in response and despite not being able to breathe at the moment, Harry's eyes flutter open to gaze up at Tony. Purposely meeting Tony's blue eyes, Harry swallows again with a moan when their eyes lock, the sound vibrating up Tony's erection. He's well aware of how much Tony liked to watch him like this. He made sure to meet his partner's eyes. The intensity in the other man's gaze would have taken Harry's breath away if he wasn't already choking on Tony's dick.

He swallows around the erection blocking his air a third time, watching Tony's wide dilated eyes as he does so. Harry doesn't fight Tony, remaining plaint in his hands, trusting Tony would move and let him breathe only when Tony decided to. When the edges of Harry's vision starts to go dark, Tony pulls back, resting on Harry's tongue. Letting him get a couple gulped breaths before forcing himself back down into the other man's throat. Harry's eyes fall shut again, adjusting himself to the new harsher rhythm without protest, letting himself start to drift away again.

He concentrated instead on the hot rush of lust through his body, the sharp bite of pain that always excited him, the light headed sensation of barely enough oxygen in his lungs. Harry slowly lost himself, giving up the last of his will and self-control to Tony. He wasn't aware of the tears on his flushed cheeks as Tony took his time brutally using Harry's mouth and throat, getting rougher the closer he came to orgasm. Tony was feeding off the helpless whimpers and moans coming from Harry. The Valkyrie on his knees like this was something damn near a religious experience if Tony believed in such things.

Harry's expression was completely blissed out despite the tears on his cheeks, and if for any one moment Tony doubted Harry's willing compliance or enjoyment of his harsh treatment, he had only to look down between the kneeling Valkyrie's legs to reassure himself. Harry was fully hard, his cock desperately straining for attention that Tony had no intention of giving at this time. He knew full well how much Harry was turned on by giving head, and he wanted to see how far he could push Harry until he couldn't hold himself back any longer. So Tony took his sweet time enjoying Harry's sinful mouth, not interested in rushing through this act.

While Harry tumbled hard down into subspace, Tony was intently watching his every reaction with relish. Tony might happily play Dom to Harry's Sub, but regardless of his role, Tony took deep satisfaction from his partner's pleasure and enjoyed watching it. Harry was absolutely gorgeous on his knees, even more so like this. With his wet lips stretched wide around his full member as Tony fucked his throat, dark lashes fluttering as occasional pretty tears streak his cheeks.

Tony didn't normally like the idea of Harry crying, but this...this was very different. Tony watches with burning eyes as Harry actively leans into the harsh treatment, moaning around his cock like it was heaven, his Pet's hips jerking from time to time helplessly. Dropping his eyes from Harry's face, Tony sucks in a sharp breath as he spots Harry full blown dripping erection. _God that was sexy._ The poor sub was hard enough to drive nails and was heavily leaking in excitement.

Tilting his head, Tony shifts his gaze under the bobbing dick, to the junction between Harry's thighs to the female part of him, what little he could see from this angle. Tony groans, breaking rhythm to slam himself hard into Harry's mouth, nearly overbalancing the other male. Harry's inner thighs were glistening with slick; there was no longer any doubt in Tony's mind about Harry's enjoyment of this treatment. Letting his lingering concerns go, Tony settles himself in the enjoy the rest of the ride. Tony yanks harder on Harry's hair, guiding his Pet's mouth to where he wanted it with little regard to Harry breathing, paying only enough attention to make sure Harry didn't pass out. Tony moves one hand down from Harry's hair to wrap lightly around the other man's throat, not squeezing, just feeling his erection slide in and out of his Pet's throat. Pressing only enough to tease Harry's senses.

Harry's eyes suddenly open again, silver/green gems gazing up dazedly at Tony, and the sight of it all, the sound of Harry's whimpering moans as Tony used him, sets Tony off. He brutally shoves Harry all the way down his cock, using his dark hair as a leash, roughly bucking his hips as Tony's climax slammed through him. "Fuck! Take it...Swallow it. All of it like a good little Pet." Tony growled out hoarsely, his vision whiting out with the force of his orgasm. Harry whimpered submissively and immediately set his throat muscles to work, milking Tony hungrily of every drop. Unable to stop himself from coming near silently on the carpet without a single touch as soon as Tony's hot release burned down his battered throat. He felt so owned, so used, it did something to him low in his belly that he couldn't explain, but left him desperately craving more despite the fact he'd just come. The intensity of it all left him shuddering.

His bliss is rudely interrupted, however, when Tony shoves him off, knocking him back on his heels. Confused, Harry looks up, lips shiny, puffy and bruised. Harry's jaw ached, and his throat screamed at him as he gasped desperately for air, but he thoroughly enjoyed every sensation. Tony, however, looked pissed. "What was one of the rules I gave you pet?" Harry blinks, mind slow as sludge at the moment, but Tony waits. Finally, Harry realizes, and retaining his kneeling position, flattens himself belly down on the floor, ignoring the fact he was smearing his own cum all over his stomach. His wings flatten themselves down as low as they can go, not looking Tony in the eye as he answered in a miserable, wrecked voice. "You told me not to come, Sir."

Tony lets his eyes wander over the prone form. _Jesus but Harry was a damned near perfect sub. He needed training of course, but the instincts were naturally there, and that couldn't be trained into someone._ Still, Harry had disobeyed and needed to be reprimanded. Without a word Tony turns away, walking over to the sofa and sitting down. His voice is cold as he addresses his submissive. "Look at me."

Harry raises his eyes to meekly meet Tony's own, clearly struggling to maintain eye contact in the face of Tony's clear anger. Tony notes this but doesn't draw attention to it. His tone remaining frosty as he speaks. "I want to you to crawl to me on your knees. You will not use your hands or wings to help you. You will not look away from my face. Come here, now."

Taking a shaky breath, Harry does as ordered, oblivious to Tony's personal enjoyment in watching him do so. Now was not the time to show Harry that. When the Valkyrie reaches Tony's side, he pauses, waiting for Tony next orders. Tony leans back a little, gesturing with his hand. "Lay down across my lap, bottom in the air. I'm going to spank you. Do you know why you are being punished?"

Harry nods his head, shuffling his legs under him as he carefully draped himself over Tony's thighs, neatly folding and tucking his wings in such a way that they were not interfering with the punishment Tony was going to use. Harry's didn't think spanking was going to be much of a punishment or deterrent, but he wasn't going to say anything. Let Tony figure that out on his own. "I disobeyed a direct order not to come."

Tony arches a brow and Harry quickly corrects himself. "Sir."

Tony continues to side eye him for a moment, blatant warning in his expression before he speaks. "Correct."

Lightly Tony strokes over the smooth curve of Harry's backside, imagining it a bright pretty pink. Spanking Harry definitely wasn't going to be breaking his heart. Harry shivers under the caress but remains silent. Tony firmly grasps Harry's bound wrists with his other hand, pinning the other male down in place to steady him. "I don't want you to count, not this time. You are allowed to be as vocal as you need to be. Remember your safeword if you need it. You're going to get twenty smacks, beginning now."

Right as he finished his sentence, Tony brings his hand down sharply, not starting out soft. Harry liked pain, so Tony needed to make sure he had the other man's attention properly. From the startled yip and the flinch, Tony figured he succeeded. He doesn't let up, keeping count in his head as he brings his palm down again and again while keeping a close eye on how Harry was doing.

Harry starts squirming after a few strokes, wavering between distressed and steadily turned on. Finally, he stops fighting the sensations, just letting it happen, letting himself sink into the feeling. Tony knows the instant Harry completely relaxes into his grip, accepting the punishment instead of mentally resisting it. He alternates between each butt cheek and the backs of Harry's thighs, smirking to himself a little bit when he catches a muffled moan from his Pet, completely unsurprised. By the time Tony reaches the twentieth and final smack, he's aware that Harry is fully hard again. Harry is shivering in his lap, and with the punishment now over, Tony lightly strokes down Harry's spine until the Valkyrie calms down some.

"You really seem to like pain." Tony notes aloud, causing Harry to look at him from over his shoulder, but he doesn't speak. For a moment Tony just looks, taking in the sweetly flushed cheeks and dilated eyes. Harry really was an enjoyable submissive. Tony wondered if they would be doing this again, and if so, how often. Would Harry only want this when he was in a certain mood? Or would their bedroom life feature this sort of play predominately? It was a little bit early to tell at this point, and Harry had admitted that this was all new to him. Though it looked like he had done a bit of research into it enough to know the stoplight system, appropriate honorifics, and proper submissive kneeling posture, as well as a beautiful supplication pose that left his wings unhindered.

Shifting, Tony helps Harry straighten up off his lap, and gently pushes him back down into the kneeling position. Looking him over in a considering light, a hand dropping down into his own lap to lightly stroke his own renewed arousal. Seeing that Harry was pretty far gone in subspace again by the look in his eyes, Tony can't help the little smile that touches his lips. It concerned him a little bit, how easily Harry appeared to slip in and out of that state, it was one more thing to address with Harry later.

Getting smoothly to his feet, Tony steps away from the sofa, reaching down to pick Harry up off the floor. It always surprised him how light the man was considering the extra weight of his wings. Harry snuggles into Tony's chest, closing his eyes with a soft sigh, drifting on a deep haze of calm. At this point, he didn't much give a damn what Tony did, so long as it continued to make him feel like this. Petting his hair lightly, Tony carries Harry into the nearest bedroom, the one he had first woken up in and sets Harry down on the floor. Tapping his cheek lightly to get his attention, he points to the bed, voice husky. "Lay belly down on the edge of the mattress, with your feet firmly on the floor. Lay your wings however they would be comfortable."

Slowly Harry nods, moving over to lay himself down as instructed. Splaying his wings out in a relaxed submissive position on the blanket. He shuffles his feet, spreading his legs invitingly for Tony, having a hopeful idea where this was going. Tony strokes a hand over Harry's still burning bottom, groaning softly at the heat coming off of the bright red skin. "You're beautiful like this you know." Harry doesn't respond, only arching his bottom into Tony's hand with a soft hiss at the flash of pain.

Tony slides his hand down from Harry's bottom, slipping his fingers into the still hot and wet female part of him. Rubbing teasingly as Harry whimpers into the bedspread, trying to push onto his fingers with no luck, as Tony was purposely keeping just out of reach. For a couple of minutes, Tony contents himself with tormenting Harry a little bit, enjoying listening to his soft moans, and watching him squirm. His other hand is firmly on his own hard cock, teasing and stroking himself just as much as his sub, working them both to the edge before pulling away. Without warning Tony slaps Harry hard on the ass, making the man jump with a high pitched yelp he would never admit to making, causing himself to tighten up instinctively. Tony takes that moment to roughly grab Harry's hips, lining his hard cock up and shoving all the way in with one long thrust.

Harry bucks hard under him, his voice rising in a shout as he clamps down hard on the intrusion, causing Tony to swear as he pulls out partway and slams back in. Harry bucks under him again, this time up into the brutal penetration. "Fuck, Tony! Yes!" Tony slaps Harry's thigh sharply in retaliation, growling out. "Remember your manners Pet." Tony gets a distracted nod in return but chooses not to call Harry out on it this time.

Tony digs his fingers into the body under him, holding Harry down where he wants him, as he set a fast, hard, pace with no mercy. Snapping his hips roughly against Harry's still bright red bottom, groaning low in his throat at both the heat coming off of Harry, and the tight clenching muscles of his sub's female core as they damn near strangled his dick. Harry struggles under him, but doesn't call out his safeword, so he continues on, using his Pet's body for his own pleasure, leaving Harry to rub helplessly against the bedspread.

Harry tilts his hips up as best he can to better take the rough mounting. Something within him uncurls and purrs happily each time he was brutally pierced by Tony's hard length. Harry could feel his fangs drop down, slurring his words a bit as Tony took him like an animal. Harry's inner Valkyrie was coming awake, and Harry's rational mind was swiftly retreating without a fight, leaving the Valkyrie fully in control. Harry had never permitted himself to fully let his Valkyrie loose, always keeping it firmly contained under his control. Now, though, Tony was completely unraveling him, and he loved every second of it. The Valkyrie slipped Harry's mental restraints, and Harry was too distracted to notice or care.

Harry instinctively clamped down more tightly on Tony inside him, ripping a startled shout from the man, and another harsh smack on his bottom. Harry moaned happily, listening to the sounds of skin loudly slapping against skin as Tony used him. This wasn't loving making, it was fucking, and Harry reveled in it. Each thrust was a beautiful mixture of pleasure and pain inside him, sending Harry higher and higher, as the motions brutally ground Harry's own hard cock into the blanket of the bed. Enough to tease and to hurt a little, but not quite enough to bring him off just yet. The ownership, the domination of each motion sent Harry's head spinning in delight. He had suspected he would like these sort of games, but he had not anticipated his response to be this strong. They would definitely have to do something like this again at some point.

Any worry in Tony's mind is wiped away when Harry's voice carries to his ears, alternating between praise and curses in equal measure. Letting go of the Valkyrie's hip with one hand, Tony leans forward, grabbing Harry's hair and pulling his head up. Forcing the pretty Valkyrie to arch his back into an awkward position up on his toes as Tony drapes over his back. His chest rubbing against the sensitive wing feathers as Tony hisses in Harry's ear, struggling to get the words past clenched teeth.

Tony could have easily gone off again earlier, but he was determined to ride Harry hard until his little sub was begging for it. "You like that? You like taking my cock? Feeling it inside you like that? You fit me so well Pet like you were made just for my dick. All mine to use and abuse to both of our pleasure. Will you take my seed like you greedily sucked it down earlier?"

Harry nods desperately, barely able to concentrate on just breathing at the moment, overwhelmed by the sensations overloading his brain. Tony yanking his hair and rubbing against his feathers, the sharp stinging of his ass both from the spanking and Tony's hips slamming against it, as well as his cock harshly forcing Harry open again and again was enough, for his mind to completely short circuit. Any thinking beyond his physical pleasure or his Dom's were beyond Harry for now. Harry bucks and squirms under Tony, managing to shift enough to widen his stance, letting Tony slide deeper inside him on each thrust. Harry could feel Tony's dick like a hot brand on his insides, but he was lapping up every twisted second of the pleasure and pain. Urging Tony on with both his body and the filthy words falling out of his mouth. "Sir! Yes - yes, please! I want your come; I want it so bad. Again and again!"

Tony moaned hotly against Harry's ear, hip jerking helplessly at the mental image of taking Harry over and over again until he was dripping with Tony's seed."Who do you belong to, Pet? Who owns your hot, wet little cunt? Who owns your tight little ass, your pretty, filthy mouth?"

"You Sir, only you!" Tony turns his head to bite down hard on Harry's shoulder, tasting just a hint of copper on his tongue as he does so. Harry lets loose a short scream, bucking under Tony, a couple of tears glittering on his dark lashes.

Tony licks the spot he's just bitten, pleased to see the broken skin, and that it was taking longer to heal than his other bites from before. Then he licks up the side of Harry's neck, tasting the salty sweat that glistened on his Pet's skin before he growls again "Only my dick makes you come, you understand? You're mine, no one else's! Mine to love, mine to hurt, to fuck, and to punish."

"Yes! Fuck me, please! Make me yours Tony! Fill me up, please."

Tony groans roughly in his ear, biting the side of Harry's neck. "You don't know what you do to me pet."

Harry moans in response, feeling a white hot blast of heat uncurl in his belly, it's not the normal sensation he gets from an orgasm, and he opens his mouth to say something. But the Valkyrie in his head, usually passive and silent suddenly rears its head, shoving Harry aside and taking over his mouth. "Tony...Tony...give it to me. Give me your seed, I want it so bad. Want you to breed me...please...please…"

Tony swears viciously as his hips begin to stutter, the image of Harry swollen with his child feeds his deep-seated possessiveness, shoving him violently over the edge into bliss. His climax hits him like a punch to the gut; it was so intense, leaving him unable to breathe or think, his vision whiting out. Dimly he's aware of Harry reaching his own peak, the tight muscles gripping Tony's cock locking down harder. It felt like Harry's body was draining everything it could force from him.

The Valkyrie in Harry arches to take Tony as deeply as he possibly can at this angle when he realizes his dominant mate is finishing. Harry is so wound up, so sensitive inside from Tony's mounting that he can feel the first searing jets of Tony's seed spilling inside him. Instinct has him clamping down viciously to prevent any from escape, his hips smoothly rolling to stroke and milk the cock inside him, prolonging Tony's climax and coaxing as much release from his partner as he can. Harry whimpers and shudders with each hot splash inside his burning core, his own peak, while intensely pleasurable is secondary in the Valkyrie's quest to be bred by its mate as swiftly as possible.

Logically, in the back of his mind Harry knew it couldn't happen, Tony wasn't really here. But that didn't change his primal instincts to have his Dominate fill him as often and as much as he could physically manage until Harry was pregnant. The white hot heat in his belly slowly spreads outward, and Harry dimly realizes it's part of his magic, but he is uncertain as to what it is trying to accomplish. Nearly drowning on the overpowering demands of his Valkyrie, loose from the mental restraints Harry normally keeps it under.

Slowly Tony comes back to his senses, finding himself collapsed on top of Harry's back, both of them fighting for breath. With a soft groan, he lifts himself up on trembling arms, forcing himself to straighten enough to pull out. With a free hand, he quickly releases Harry's bound wrists from the hair tie. Harry whimpers softly, his whole body a symphony of pleasurable aches. Once his wrists were free, he weakly crawls the rest of the way up the bed before collapsing again, Tony joining him.

Pulling Harry close, Tony wraps him up in his arms. No matter how tired he was, he needed to make sure that Harry was alright. First he checks his eyes and face, finding him still deep in subspace, looking tired. No real help there then. Taking his time Tony gently inspects Harry's body, finding scratches and bruising, as well as a couple of bites he doesn't remember giving, but all of them were slowly healing before his eyes, so he wasn't really worried. Carefully he slips a hand between Harry's legs, knowing the other will be hypersensitive right now, but needing to check. As gently as he can Tony dips his fingertips into the slick folds. Harry moans in clear discomfort, not fully awake, but he still spreads his thighs open for Tony, giving a clear invitation to be mounted again.

Tony draws a sharp breath, his limp dick twitching in sympathy. Damn, what the hell had he done in a past life to get a sub like this? Willing to let himself be taken again by his Dom, even half unconscious. Much as the idea appealed, Tony wasn't physically able to at the moment, nor did he think it a good idea after such an intense session. Withdrawing his fingers, Tony finds his concerns validated, there was blood mixed in with Tony's semen, and Harry's own vaginal fluids. Thankfully, it was only a small amount, and with the way Harry healed, he wasn't going to panic, but he would keep an eye on the other just in case.

Leaning over to kiss Harry lightly on the mouth, he murmurs softly that he would be right back and gets off the bed. Waiting until he was sure his unsteady legs would obey him, Tony then moved into the bathroom to hunt down a wash cloth. Finding one in the cabinet, he runs it under hot water and brings it back into the bedroom to wipe Harry down. Harry lets himself be maneuvered but otherwise remained unresponsive, clearly exhausted. Tony takes the cloth back into the bathroom to rinse it out and clean himself. Then pads back into the bedroom and crawls into bed beside Harry, pulling the Valkyrie into his arms again.

He doesn't let himself sleep, however, even as Harry's breathing evens out and deepens in slumber. He needed to stay awake in case Harry needed him. Tony didn't know how long Harry would remain naturally in subspace, if he would come out smoothly, or if he would drop suddenly. So the best bet was to stay close and be watchful, just in case. Tony takes the time to enjoy the peace that seems to have settled into his bones for the time being. He carefully thinks over his and Harry's session, finding himself rather pleased with the overall results. Tony had managed to avoid any unforeseen triggers, and Harry seemed to enjoy himself. Tony counts it as a win.

Yawning, Tony snuggles into Harry's side, continuing to go over his mental notes and observation from their play session. Harry liked being dominated; that was evident. He liked restraints, rough play, biting, hair-pulling and spankings. Pain in general from what Tony could tell at the moment. All of that Tony had half been anticipating, familiar with this from being with Harry years ago, but the breeding kink had caught him completely off guard, even if he'd retained control enough not to show it. Normally that one sent up alarm bells, and waved red flags, telling Tony to run the other direction as quickly as possible. This time, though, Tony had had the complete opposite reaction. Taking a deep breath, Tony forces himself to think about it. Was it just a sexual kink, or did he really want to start a family with Harry at some point?

The Valkyrie was certainly capable of it.

Tony found, to his uncertain surprise, that the idea of little monsters and ankle biters with Harry's face or eyes did not disturb him. Actually, it was kinda...nice. Unwilling to delve into the subject any further than that right now, Tony pushes the idea away. Instead, he brings up some ideas for his newest Iron Man suit and spends the next several hours going over calculations in his head to keep himself awake.

About four hours into his task Harry stirs, coming awake slowly and sitting up on the bed. Tony suspends his calculations and carefully watches for any signs of distress. "Harry?" He calls softly, to get the other man's attention. Green eyes turn towards him, and Tony is happy to note that Harry seems to have come out of subspace smoothly. Harry smiles at him softly and settles back down to snuggle back into Tony's side with a content sigh. Tony kisses his temple, smiling at the pleased hum he got in return.

"How are you feeling, love?"

Harry lazily flops an arm over Tony's stomach, mumbling into his shoulder. "Feel really good. Still a little tired, and a bit sore, but in a good way."

Tony pets Harry's hair. "Good. Go back to sleep for a little while, you weren't down very long." Harry just hums a soft affirmative, his eyes already closing. Once he was sure that Harry was settled comfortably, Tony finally allows himself to relax enough to settle into sleep. It takes him swiftly, pulling him into darkness and dreams.

 ** _*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*_**

Tony wakes slowly to the sensation of significant weight on his chest. His foggy mind doesn't immediately pick up what it is until he feels Harry's soft snicker against his neck. Hot breath tickles his sensitive skin, making Tony shiver in response. Blinking open sleepy blue eyes, Tony finds a very much awake Harry straddling him, leaning forward and placing hot wet kisses on his neck. Green/silver eyes sparkle at him, and Tony huffs a sleep rough laugh and wraps his arms tightly around the Valkyrie, holding him closer. "Morning beautiful."

Harry gives him a bright happy smile and leans forward to capture Tony's mouth in a slow caressing kiss. Tony moves a hand up to gently cup Harry's face, thumb lightly stroking his cheek as they spend several long minutes just sensually feeding off one another's lips. Harry sighs softly into his mouth, and Tony suddenly feels a sharp set of fangs brush across his bottom lip, making him startle a little bit. He gently tugs Harry away from his mouth to get a better look at them, expression curious. Harry arches a slender brow at him but pliantly lets Tony examine his mouth, playfully nipping at his fingertips once or twice. Tony just shoots him little amused glances. Every now and then dropping a light kiss on the end of Harry's nose when he was done examining them. "So are you a vampire too? Or are those just for show?"

Harry just bemusedly rolls his eyes at him, sitting up and purposely wiggling in Tony's lap, blatantly rubbing his female core against Tony's half hard dick, earning himself a light slap on the thigh. Harry just grins unrepentantly in return as his erect cock jumped in appreciation, and shifts his teasing motion to a more serious roll of his hips. Tony inhales a little sharply, closing his eyes for a few moments to enjoy the velvety sensation of it.

The head of his cock lightly catches against Harry's slick entrance from time to time. Pressing just enough to give the illusion of nearly breaching Harry, before the little tease shifted away again, only to come back and do it again and again. Tony's nearly forgotten the question he posed, when Harry finally bothers to answer him. Causing Tony to open his eyes, brain briefly scrambling to remind him of what it was."Hmmm...Not a vampire in the sense that I need to feed on blood or else. Only very young babes need to be fed blood consistently. So, no. Blood is normally only exchanged between lovers, and between parent and young child. Between adults, it's much more...sexual."

"Well...that explains a lot about why you like biting so much." Tony watches the relaxed, leisurely motion of Harry's body. Arousal building in a low lazy simmer between them. His eyes rove over Harry's chest, groaning softly in appreciation of the smooth flexing muscles under Harry's skin. Tony swore Harry was more stunning every time he looked at him. He slides both his hands up to rest on the thighs spread around his hips, gently kneading in encouragement as Harry used his whole body to stroke and tease them both slowly to higher heights. Tony can easily see, and feel, if the easy wet glide of his female core was any indication, that Harry is fully aroused already. So most of this teasing display was purely for Tony's benefit, to work him up to where Harry needed him to be.

Both of them fall silent at that point. Communicating with the movements of their bodies, shared looks, and smiles, soft exhalations of breath. It was fairly obvious to Tony that Harry had a plan of direction in his head this morning, so he let the Valkyrie lead them wherever they were going without protest. Just enjoying the show, and it was a lovely show. Harry was purposely moving in such ways to display his body for Tony's view as well as physically tease his cock. Harry was all grace and sleek rolling muscle as he damn near danced in Tony's lap.

Then Harry opens and arches his wings, gently swaying them in time with his movements, the morning light shimmering off the iridescent green under feathers. Giving Tony a light show on top of the deliciously obscene presentation. Tony watches greedily as Harry slides his hands over his body, pinching and rubbing his nipples. Dragging his nails roughly over soft skin, leaving dark red scratches in his wake. He offers Tony a devilish grin when their eyes lock, holding Tony's gaze as Harry moves a hand down to wrap tightly around his own flushed and aroused cock. Slowly jerking himself off with Tony's eyes on him. His touches are light, meant to torment and entice rather than satisfy. Precome generously beads at the shining tip of Harry's erection, and Tony desperately wants to lick it off, but he remains in place, just gently shifting his hips along with Harry's, now fully aroused.

Harry leans over to lick over Tony's slightly parted, softly panting lips, making the man blink, caught off guard. He understands why a heartbeat later when he suddenly finds himself deeply sheathed inside the tight wet heat of Harry's body. Tony moans low in his throat, hips instinctively flexing up in response. "Oh, Yes…" Harry sighs happily, clenching around Tony inside of him, wrenching another moan from the prone man's mouth. Harry places his hands on Tony's chest to better balance himself, and then gives Tony a wicked smile that was slightly threatening with his fangs out.

Tony blue eyes are blown wide, dark with lust. Harry feels his mate move his hands from Harry's thighs to his ass, squeezing tightly. Harry rolls his hips in retaliation, concentrating on keeping his core locked tight around Tony's dick as he rode him ruthlessly. The pace wasn't fast; Harry took his sweet time, enjoying every thick inch of his mate. Tony continues to grip him helplessly, silently trying to encourage Harry to a swifter rhythm, but Harry was having none of it, he fully intended to draw this first ride out as long as possible. He was going to drive Tony wild before he was done with him.

The bedroom air fills with the soft sounds of sex. Moans, sighs, and the slick sound of bodies meeting over and over. It doesn't take Tony long to get the message that he isn't the one in control of this encounter, and he gives up trying to steer it with little fuss. Throwing his head back into the pillow and just watching the gorgeous Valkyrie take what he wanted from Tony's body, exactly how he wanted it. Tony wasn't going to bitch, this was one of his favorite positions, after all, it always afforded him a great view. When Harry feels himself nearing the edge he reaches down to his own cock again, wrapping his fingers tightly around the base and gritting his teeth as he hisses out a spell. He groans in a mixture of pleasure and pain when a black band of his magic comes into being, locking around his arousal firmly to prevent Harry from coming. As far as Harry was concerned, this morning had only just gotten started. He had not used magic last night because his Sir was running the show, but this morning, Harry had full intentions to take advantage of his abilities. Tony wasn't going to know what hit him; he was in for the ride of his life.

Tony makes a small noise of surprise when Harry removes his hand, and Harry looks up, seeing the curiosity in his blue eyes. Harry gives him a shark-like grin before suddenly changing his pace from leisurely torment, riding Tony now with the intent to drag the other man to completion quickly. Magic crackles around Harry's fingertips before spreading out across Tony's skin, lighting his nerve endings up. Tony bucks under Harry with a shocked shout, but Harry was expecting such a reaction and rides the motion smoothly throughout. Tony's head spins, his breath struggles in his chest for a moment before he regains it. His mind doesn't quite know what to do with the sensation overload.

Out of reflex, he just closes his eyes and rides out these strange waves of pleasure Harry somehow created. His skin was buzzing with it. It felt like liquid fire was pouring down Tony's spine, and was somehow attached to his cock. Only, it definitely wasn't pain he was experiencing. Tony's heart was racing, there was a rushing sound in his ears, all rational thought quickly flew out of the window as his mind melted down into one overwhelming drive towards reaching his peak. He couldn't even hear the helpless noises being ripped from his throat.

Harry doesn't let up with his magic, using it to reach throughout Tony's body and spark along his nervous system. It wasn't very long before Tony lost whatever control he had managed to retain over the timing of his climax. Harry doesn't pay it much attention the first time Tony spills inside of him, only taking notice of it when it rips a scream from his partner. Harry just shifts his magic within Tony to force his body into readiness again, still rolling his hips towards his own peak not far behind his mate's. Harry's a little bit slower because if his need to concentrate on what his magic was doing inside Tony. As much as Harry was fully in control of the situation, and was using Tony for his own pleasure, his intent is simply to blow any other bedroom competition out of the water.

To make sure Tony would never, ever forget what Harry could do for him in the bedroom. Tony was **_HIS_ ** , even if, for the time being, he couldn't chase anyone else away from his mate. Harry lets himself sink into the feeling of his magic and their bodies, losing track of anything else outside of that. Harry happily spends time bringing Tony off again and again until the human's body threatens a dangerous level of exhaustion, before Harry lets up with his magic, breaking the torturous spell on his cock ring for the last round.

Gasping, Harry slumps over onto Tony, more than a little burnt out himself. His Valkyrie was purring in happy contentment, receding into the background of Harry's thoughts and letting his control go for now. Harry groans as he slowly stretches his body out, flopping to one side of his mate on the bed. His lips curling a little bit at the thick rush of fluids between his thighs as he shifts, there was no avoiding that, unfortunately. He'd milked Tony of everything his body could realistically give up and then some. Intentionally pushing Tony to his human physical limits, and then using his magic to force him beyond. Pushing the mild discomfort from his mind Harry immediately checks on Tony, finding him dazed, body limp and trembling, but breathing, and sporting a faint smile.

Tony turns his head a little to meet Harry's eyes, and Harry notes that he's never seen the pupils that wide before, leaving only the tiniest ring of dark blue. Tony's face was flushed, and his heart was still rabbiting in his chest, but he didn't seem to be hurt. Harry brushes loving butterfly kisses all over Tony's face, whispering endearments and praises in between. Eventually, slowly, Tony appears to gather himself enough to slip an arm around Harry's waist, giving the Valkyrie a light squeeze in acknowledgment.

When Tony finally gets his breath back enough to speak, all he says is, "So that was magic huh?" before pulling Harry the rest of the way into his arms and refusing to let go. Harry just hums an affirmative and lets himself be held, not the least bit surprised when Tony is deeply asleep not even two minutes later. Harry just purrs in contentment and absently traces his fingertips over his lower belly where a rather shocking amount of Tony's seed rested inside of him. It didn't mean anything now, and Harry could safely indulge this particular whim here, where it was safe. Where there was no physical chance of Tony impregnating him, regardless of the Valkyrie's enthusiasm. Harry hadn't seen any harm in letting his Valkyrie run with its natural instincts for the time being.

Harry had figured out that somehow, Tony and he had connected on the non-physical plane. The information had gradually appeared in his mind, and Harry suspected Lotus had everything to do with this strange house he's found himself and Tony in. It had been nice to let his non-human nature out so freely, as he very rarely had the opportunity to do so. Rarely felt safe enough to do so, even among his people.

However, in the future, Harry didn't think he would be able to feed his inner Valkyrie's more primitive drives. Harry had no intention of being constantly pregnant. Said inner Valkyrie purrs in happiness at the idea, causing logical Harry to roll his eyes. Harry turns over several ideas in his head for the future. He would need to work more on that formula to strengthen human mates. He absolutely refused to leave them that vulnerable, especially if Tony was going to be running around in the Iron Man suit playing a superhero. Harry also wanted to discuss a few more personal things with Tony, but Harry knew that until he could prove to Tony the many things he claimed were true, the man would dodge and delay any such discussions.

Dissatisfied with leaving things like that in limbo between them, but having no other recourse at the moment, Harry forces himself to let the matter go for now. Stretching out slowly again, Harry checks on Tony one last time before he slips silently from the bed and goes into the bathroom to grab a quick wash. Harry doesn't bother to dress when he comes out since it was just the two of them in the house and he was now fully clean after his quick shower.

He heads out into the living room to try and find something to do other than sleep. His body was certainly tired from the morning spent in bed with Tony, but his mind was wide awake. Sleep was not an option, and he was feeling restless. He finds several books in a closet and picks one out randomly to read while curled up on the living room sofa. He snorts softly in amusement as he opens the book.

It was one of the texts from his lessons. Suspicions confirmed he rolls his eyes up to the ceiling and comments dryly. "I certainly hope that you enjoyed the free show Lotus, you perv." There is no response back, but Harry is unbothered by the fact turning his attention instead to the book in his hands. Eventually, he drifts off without realizing it, the book slipping from his hands to fall softly on the couch cushion next to him.

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When Harry next opens his eyes, he finds himself laying on the couch of a very familiar library. Fully dressed once more, though his wings were still in full view. He bolts up in place, head whipping around as he frantically takes in his surroundings. His expression twists in growing horror. "No...no...no..no nonononono! Tony!"

Harry slams a fist down on a cushion in a fit of anger. " ** _LOTUS!_ ** Take me back! Give me Tony back!"

He gets up from the sofa, glaring around the library as if that would make either one of them appear. "Lotus, **_please!_ ** " He calls out, the rage bleeding from his voice into desperation. "Don't do this...I can't just disappear like that on him…"

A flickering image to his left catches his attention, and he moves over towards it slowly. It's a faint picture of a young Valkyrie, maybe all of fourteen with bubble gum pink hair, piercing blue eyes. Harry blinks a few times at the strange coloring, letting his eyes roam over the simple white dress and white wings.

Lotus shakes her head sadly as she speaks. "I'm sorry my Prince. I cannot reconnect. Tony is awake on Earth now. It was not I that broke the connection, but something on his end. I can try again later, but...I can't guarantee a connection. I was not sure I would be able to make one this time, being so far out from the planet."

Harry closes his eyes briefly in despair. Tony was gone for now, and a re-connection later was uncertain at best. He turns away from Lotus and flops gracelessly back onto the couch. Swearing softly to himself in frustration "Damn it…"

Lotus flickers out of view, not that Harry bothered to notice her doing so. He is left alone in silence with his thoughts in turmoil. Feeling wretched he curls up in the corner of the couch, wrapping his arms around his knees as everything caught up with him. Tony had suffered so much in Harry's time away from Earth. Harry's mother had suffered as well, was still suffering, with the recent death of Harry's father. Tony half believed Harry might return in two years time, and promised to wait. But Harry found himself hesitant to believe the promise. They had made love, and explored new avenues of play. They had shared so much pain with one another in the time Lotus had managed to bring them together.

For a long time, Harry remained where he was, just processing. Sometimes he wept, sometimes he was furious. Able to let himself work through it emotionally now that Tony was not there to witness, or distract. Lotus remained watchful but silent, sensing now was not the time to disturb her Prince with lessons, though soon she would have to inform him of their approach to the larger ship. For the moment, she could leave him be. Eventually, Harry felt most of his wild emotions drain from him, leaving him lethargic and numb.

Slowly he stretched out on the couch, working the stiffness from being curled up for so long from his wings and limbs. He still felt shaky, but he knew he needed to move forward. Letting himself drown in his emotions was not a luxury he had, and frankly, he was tired of feeling so crappy. He pushed the rest of it away, knowing it would take more time to heal and settle. He takes a few deep breaths and lets them out slowly, calming his nerves as best he can. He tilts his head back towards the ceiling a bit. "Lotus?"

Immediately the AI responds, her voice soft. "Here, my Prince."

Harry feels the corner of his mouth curl upwards slightly. "What's our next lesson?"

Relief comes through clearly in the AI's tone as she replies, automatically sliding into the lecturing timbre she used for previous lessons. "We finished your lessons in traditional dance and were about to delve into personal adornments and their many meanings for important occasions. As you know, there are jewelry items that mean nothing at all and are simply decorative. However when placed in certain combinations at specific events. They take on an entirely new importance. Their significance in color, gem type, placement on the body as well as metal types. Beads, shells, precious stones vs. common. Included in this section are various braiding styles and what they mean in combination with these adornments. For example…"

Harry listens closely as she continues on, somewhat boggled at the importance attached to hair braids styles and jewelry in combinations with formal events, mating dances, weddings and so much more. He found it both fascinating and utterly stupid. The odd quirks of an alien culture. The only parts that really interested him were the correct braids and jewelry for some of the naughtier dances for his mate, and the proper ones to wear to indicate you were Bonded. Otherwise, the rest of it, he didn't really care about, but knew he had to learn for the stuck up court Valkyrie.

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Back on Earth, Tony woke slowly to the strange and annoying beeping of a machine next to his ear. Blinking the blurriness from his eyes, Tony squinted into the bright light around him, confused about where he was. Slowly the room came into focus around him and he frowned. He was in a hospital room. The annoying beeping that had woken him was a heart monitor. Tony searched his memory, trying to come up with an explanation for being here. He couldn't think of any. There hadn't been an accident in his lab that he could remember. In fact, the last thing he did remember clearly was going to sleep, and then seeing Harry in that strange house.

Briefly his thought processes were derailed as the enormity of that memory struck him. He was uncertain if what he's experienced had been real. His waking up in a hospital room indicated that perhaps he's had a stroke, or seizure. Perhaps everything with Harry had simply been a strange hallucination caused by that rather than heavy drinking. But it felt real, the memories weren't hazy like a dream would have been. His body ached all over from the last round of Harry's attention, but that could also be easily explained away if he'd had a seizure as well. Frowning to himself he tried to slowly sit up in his bed. He didn't have any trouble, so obviously all his muscles were working correctly. In fact, the only thing he could find wrong with him was an intense thirst. Before he could hit the call button on his monitor however, the door swung open, and Pepper walked into his room.

Tony froze for a heartbeat as a wall of mixed emotions hit him strongly. It was a tangled mess of contradictions, one he didn't have a hope of sorting through before the woman had flung herself into his arms. She hugged him tightly, tears in her eyes as she clung to him like he might slip away if she let go. "Tony, I'm so glad you're awake! I was so worried! What happened? How are you feeling? Do you need the nurse?"

Gently Tony untangled her from himself, his voice soft as he tried to calm her down. "Pep...Pep...Pepper, hush. I'm all right. I don't need the nurse. I don't know what happened. I went to sleep and woke up here. I was hoping someone would be able to tell me what's going on."

Pepper let herself be moved, sniffing softly as she wiped the tears from her eyes with one hand while she firmly held on to one of Tony's. "Jarvis called me. He said he couldn't wake you up. He said he did a body scan and that you had strange brain activity. He didn't know what to make of it, so he called emergency services, then called me."

Tony frowns again; he would have to look at whatever Jarvis had recorded when he was released from here. At the moment however, he wasn't sure what to make of the information. He knew what he hoped for, but he still found it very difficult to believe in the sort of psychic encounter he'd shared with Harry. "What hospital are we at?"

Pepper nervously cleared her throat. "Uhm..its a Shield Hospital. I..I kind of panicked, and didn't realize where we were until they'd already brought us here. It's a good idea, I mean...It kept the media away until we knew what's wrong. They think you're off on a private vacation by the way. I thought staying here would keep you safer. Would keep Iron Man safer as well."

Slowly Tony let out a tense breath, while he did not want to be at the mercy of Shield for any reason at all, it really was the safest place for him. A public hospital would have been a disaster. However, he didn't trust them not to tamper with his Arc Reactor. Pepper wouldn't have thought about that in her worry for him though, and really Tony couldn't fault her for that. "Its alright Pep, it's fine. We'll talk to the doctor and see what's going on, then go home."

She gripped his hand more tightly, tugging on it a bit in her distress. "But Tony, what if it's something serious? You wouldn't wake up for four days!"

Tony blinked, surprised by the outburst. "Four days?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes Tony, four long, horrible days. They wouldn't tell me anything about what was going on because you have Rhodey listed as your next of kin. You never changed it over to me."

Tony winced, knowing a highly unpleasant conversation would be coming later because of that. With the both of them. Rhodey because he was worried about Tony, and Pepper because she was left in the dark with only her fear to keep her company. Quickly he tried to shift the subject before it went sideways. "Where is he anyhow?"

Pepper sighed, but chooses not to drag it out for the time being. "Sleeping. He was in here a couple of hours ago. I made him get something to eat and go to sleep. He was impersonating a zombie rather too accurately."

The conversation trailed off, Tony because he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know why Pepper fell silent. After a few moments Tony laid back down. He wasn't sure how to deal with Pepper right now after seeing Harry. After being with Harry. Whether the encounter was real or not didn't matter in the end, it still felt real to him and he couldn't find it in himself to feel guilty about what Pepper would see as a betrayal. Even if it was only in his head, Tony has known for a long time that he loved Harry beyond anyone, or anything else. He cared for Pepper, that was never in question, but he didn't know how to deal with this conflict at this point. So silence was the only answer he could think of until he'd sorted out his own mind.

Lucky they were interrupted by the doctor only a few minutes later, not giving things time to become overly awkward. Pepper seemed content to cling to Tony's hand and have him awake, regardless of whether he was talkative or not. Much to Tony's amusement and annoyance, the doctors were baffled by his 'episode', as they referred to it. There was nothing physically wrong with him beyond normal fatigue and his brain scans which were now normal. They had him stay for a sleep study and found nothing abnormal there either. Tests of all sort were done, both while he was sleeping and after he'd woken up, and they found nothing at all aside from the unusually high brain activity while he was sleeping for four days.

It all amounted to nothing, and they ran out of excuses for keeping him there. Pepper was in turns furious and distraught at the lack of results. Rhodey remained calm, but angry and Tony was nearly silent throughout the entire process. Alarming everyone without meaning to. Tony was for the most part lost in his own thoughts, trying to process everything Harry had told him, and how he felt about Pepper. There was just so much he needed to work through, and it wasn't going to be a quick resolve.

Two days later they reluctantly let him go home.


	15. Home - Where the Heart is

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Pepper stared down into her wine glass intently. Tilting it slowly to and fro- as though the delightful white vintage she was absently enjoying had all the answers to her current dilemma held within its sparkling depths. Her lips bowed in a tight little frown as she watched the flame from one of the scented candles flicker and dance over the delicate stemware. Her forehead wrinkled faintly as she turned various things over in her head. Calling up memories of sounds, voices and conversations to the forefront of her mind. Snippets of time that stood out to her. Examining each carefully in turn as she searched out the puzzling pieces of something she had no name for.

It was simply a nagging feeling, a sense that had the hairs on the back of her neck raising more than once in the past few months. Each time it had become more noticeable, felt more threatening. More than once she'd caught herself looking around for things out of place, or a physical danger without realizing why. There never was one of course, not to her anyhow. Sometimes there was something, or someone there for Iron Man. But usually, Pepper was lucky enough to not be in the vicinity when situations like that came up.

Pepper narrowed her pale blue eyes at the glass, not truly seeing it any longer as she ponders the kaleidoscope of strangeness she finds herself in. Pepper's intuition rarely failed her throughout her life, and each passing day it shrieked at her more ferociously that something was very, very wrong in the carefully built little world around her.

It was not often that Virginia Potts found herself caught off-guard, or at a loss as to what was going on around her. She intensely disliked the feelings it invoked within her. She despised being uncertain; loathed being confused. She was stressed; nerves frayed and frazzled.

Chewing on her lower lip roughly Pepper brushed a damp tendril of copper hair from her face. Tucking it back into the messy bun at the nape of her neck. Pepper had hoped that taking a long pampering bath would soothe her agitation and help her puzzle this out. Unfortunately, Pepper found herself unable to enjoy the bath.

Little things that she normally enjoyed about the activity instead bugged her for no discernable reason. It was too humid, the wine was utterly uninteresting, the candles were nice, but their scent was forgettable. Even her favorite lavender scented bubble bath failed to impress this time around. Overall, the experience does little to quiet her unsettled state of mind.

Instead, it mildly irritates her. Rather than admit defeat however, knowing that her irritableness was her mood and not a flaw of anything in her surroundings- she stuck it out. Determined to come away from her mini-spa session with something resolved.

Anything.

She didn't even care what anymore.

But there was only one thing that Pepper's thoughts kept circling back around to despite her attempts to search elsewhere. It made no logical sense. There was nothing there to blatantly, or conclusively point to it, only a gut feeling that just refused to leave her alone.

Something was wrong with Tony.

She sighs softly in a mixture of fatigue and frustration. Gently setting the half full wine glass on the granite countertop to one side of the porcelain tub and lets herself sink down further into the lavender scented bubbles. With the wineglass gone from her range of vision, Pepper instead levels a scorching glare at the shiny brass water taps at the other end of the tub. Gleaming in cheery polished brightness in contrast to her plum purple painted toes right beside the fixtures.

It's shininess irked her.

Idly Pepper blows some of the suds out from in front of her face, resigning herself to taking into consideration what she had previously dismissed out of stubbornness. Namely, one Tony Stark, as the source of the uneasiness that Pepper couldn't explain.

It was nothing overt. Nothing that she could point to, put her fingers on, or dig around to find. She'd already tried that and had come up with nothing. Tony, was showing his rarely seen behaved side. A pleasant change of pace for her to have to deal with, for sure, but it was always mildly suspicious when it showed itself. Such behavior usually precluded disaster. It always had her looking in corners and nervously watching the newspaper headlines for Tony's newest escapades. This time however, there was nothing. No scandals, nothing blowing up, no fires, no rumoured baby-mommas, secret weddings and/or divorces. No one claiming to be his love child from some illicit fling from years ago.. The papers were silent. Nothing. Zip. Zilch.

It was enough to drive her up the walls waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Well, there was one thing, problems arising from Tony playing at being Iron Man aside…

Tony Stark was still stubborn, still absent minded- that hadn't changed. And though he was more attentive to her of late- he was still locking himself in his lab for hours, not sleeping like he should, and eating only when reminded or hunger drove him from his work. Tony still drank, though not as much as he had in the past. Still spoiled her, kissed her...made love to her. But still, despite all of this, Pepper felt something was off. If pushed, she would say that something between them had changed. Pepper couldn't fathom how, when or why. She was unable to place this source of anxiety. She didn't know what exactly, had shifted.

It was just there. This strangeness.

There was a sudden invisible distance there between them that had not been before. It had started when Tony had come home from the SHIELD hospital. At first Pepper had thought the hospital trip had spooked him into considering his mortality and life choices. However, as she considered the two of them over a stretch of time, Pepper found other things that were...off, for lack of a better term, ever well before that. Tony had always held something of himself back from her. He did it to everybody, to one degree or another. She hadn't paid it much attention then.

He had do so since the very beginning of their relationship, and Pepper had not taken it personally at the time, assuming that it had to do with his dysfunctional childhood. Tony Stark could not be said to always be, well, _present_ in a romantic sense. He just didn't work the same way as other men in that regard. Pepper had always thought his difficulty with relationships and with people in general had to do with his parent's distance. Now, though, she wondered if it was something else and she had simply been blind to it before.

Somewhere there was a disconnect.

It was in his eyes sometimes. She'd catch him looking at her from the corner of her own, like she was one of his science experiments. Like he was mentally peeling back the layers of her skin to study what was to be found beneath it. Mentally picking her apart to see how she might function. You'd think with the way his brain normally works that this intense scrutiny would please her. Excite her. Reassure Pepper that she was the focus of his hard won regard.

It didn't.

It left her cold inside. The look in his blue gaze was something she'd never seen in him before.

It was frightening.

And she couldn't explain exactly why.

All she knew, what that somehow, there was something broken between them.

Pepper didn't know what to do about it. Or if it even had anything to do with her specifically in the first place. For all she knew at this point, it might have to do with the Avengers, or SHIELD, or even something new on his Iron Man work ups and she was driving herself mad for no reason. Rhodey certainly seemed to not notice anything wrong with Tony. He still responded to her in all his normal ways. There was nothing she could call him on as strange.

She hummed irritatedly under her breath, frown turning into a scowl. She hated wondering, and talking to Tony was like trying to pin down a crazed eel. The man did not _DO_ relationship talks. Ever. If he could find a way to avoid it.

Tony was damned good at finding ways to avoid them.

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Tony didn't know what the hell he was doing. It felt like things were spiraling out of his control. Ever since the encounter with Harry in that dreamlike state, Tony had felt like he was simply going through the motions of his life. Observing it from a detached stance that was, frankly, a little unsettling. It felt like nearly everything within him had gone still, waiting for some cue to start back up into motion again.

Problem was, Tony wasn't sure what, exactly, that cue was going to end up being.

Despite his uncertain frame of mind - about absolutely everything in reality currently; life did not stop, and Tony was forced to mentally scramble to keep up with everyday things that would normally not even register on his genius radar. He felt like he was trying to run in five different directions, and only accomplishing running in place instead. It was an intensely frustrating sensation.

Tony briefly wondered if this was what normal people felt like on a daily basis. Sluggish and ineffective on nearly every level. He never wanted to experience this again, if he could avoid it. Somehow he was managing to hold himself together, despite every part of him seemingly wanting to fly into multiple pieces in various random directions. He had no idea how he was doing it, but he was. Tony just hoped he could hold out for a while longer, because he didn't think this would be a swift resolve.

There was just _so much_ to do. Too much making demands on his attention, all of it jockeying for first place, front and center.

There was the ongoing research on Harry's ties with SHIELD along with what was going on within Gemini BioTech and Syntech Research. Jarvis had yet to break the strange coding and get into the Gemini mainframe. Tony was unsurprised by this development, even a little amused.

If the coding truly was alien, as Harry had claimed, then the AI was going to be trying to break through for quite a while longer. Tony did not reveal this information to Jarvis for several reasons. Number one being that he wanted to see if Jarvis could do it on his own. The second being that Tony still thought the entire thing was a little crazy. He still half believed that his encounter with Harry was some kind of hallucination. He wasn't feeling particularly inclined to share his thoughts on the matter with his AI. Who would likely confirm Tony's fears of his slipping sanity.

Tony had yet to pinpoint the spy within SHIELD. Whoever it was, they were very good, because he'd yet to even find a misplaced crumb leading to them. Though with the coding still unreadable, Tony truly didn't have too much expectation of finding anything. He was really just looking for a shot in the dark, or for a minor screw up on the spy's behalf to give him a clue. So far, natta.

Tony had also gone over the conflicting information files on Harry. It would appear that despite the search on SHIELD's end, they were just as much in the dark about Harry as Tony had been, if not more so, because some of the information they did have, was blatantly false. If Tony went by the hallucinations words.

It was enough to make his head spin, and that was just the beginning.

There was the move that Alice had called him about the other morning. Her plane had landed about three hours ago and Tony was on his way to see her now. He was curious about the house and property Alice had chosen. But she'd given no hint during the entire process of selection and buying. Saying only that Tony would find out when she got there to show it to him. It had taken some time for Alice to obtain visas for herself and Harry, and also for her to arrange proper moving and treatment for her son.

Tony had offered more than once to help out, but each time Alice had refused, wanting to accomplish the task on her own. The last time Tony had asked her, Alice had bluntly told him that she needed to get used to fending for herself now that her husband was gone, and her son unable to care for her as he normally would have. It was good, Alice told him, for her to figure things out for herself. To be more independant. Tony hadn't bothered her about it since then, but had offered to answer any questions that she might have the best he could without interfering too much.

Tony could understand and respect wanting to simply do something yourself to prove that you can.

Buying the house in Connecticut and hiring professional movers had ended up being the easy part of the entire endeavour. Mostly because for some reason Tony had yet to figure out, SHIELD had attempted to block the both of them from entering the country. Although Alice had no way of knowing why she'd had such a difficult time with the paperwork going through. Tony had done what he could to help behind the scenes without getting his name involved. He would never mention it to Alice of course, but SHIELD's interference was just uncalled for. Tony wasn't going to let them prevent the move if he could help it. He wanted them both closer to him.

Tony had made dinner arrangements with the older woman to welcome her to her new home, sans Pepper. The Stark Industries CEO was in California for the next few days working on scoping out new talent for his R&D Department. Considering Pepper's reaction to Tony even conversing with Alice on the phone previously, with the whole of the Atlantic ocean between them, Tony had decided it was prudent to simply not mention that he was having dinner with the Sinclair worman. Or mention to her that Alice and Harry were now officially living in the states, only a short distance from their New York backyard. There was also Alice's silent disapproval of Pepper. Tony was in no way prepared the weather the storm on that issue in the least bit.

It helped slightly knowing now, at least in part, why Pepper was so hostile to Alice on the phone. Her worry over Tony cheating on her while overseas had only been part of the problem. While the whole idea rather offended him, Tony truly couldn't blame her for it. He'd relished his playboy reputation most of his life, and now it was circling around to bite him in the ass. And not in any of the fun kinky ways.

With everything that Harry had spoken to Tony about, Tony was determined to keep as much of this to himself for as long possible for the time being. Just until he could sort it out for himself at the very least. Tony was not delusional enough to think he could keep everything hidden from the intelligent woman in the long run. Pepper kept too close an eye on Tony's schedule normally, so at some point she would catch on to the inconsistencies over time. However, Tony would keep his silence on the matter for as long as it lasted.

Tony found himself still incredibly angry with all of them over the incident from their years in college. Pepper for her underhanded manipulations and actions. Harry for not believing in what was between them enough for Harry to talk to him about his fears, for not telling Tony how he felt. He was furious with Rhodey for not stepping in, even after all these years to say something.

Logically, Tony knew that all of them were at fault for the situation turning out as it had. Tony was well aware of his own stubbornness. Harry had been in a position he could not get out of, stuck between his lover and his lover's best female friend. It was a tenuous place to be, and Tony felt bad for his own blindness. Badmouthing Pepper at that time, whether it was the truth or not, would only have caused them to fight. There had been few options for Harry to choose from that would not have blown up in his face, and furthered Pepper's agenda of driving a wedge between the two of them.

Rhodey was well familiar with Tony's pigheadedness in admitting he was wrong about anything. When Tony made up his mind about something, it took quite a lot to change it. And Tony had made up his mind about Pepper long ago. Tony knew he should have listened to Rhodey when he'd tried to say something about the fight between himself and Harry then, but Tony had not been in any frame of mind to listen at the time. Or for years after the fact, really. Tony was reluctant to admit that he had been a little bit in denial about the people he had chosen for himself as family.

He was aware that Pepper was ruthless and manipulative when it suited her, so was he when the occasion arose. It was what made Pepper such an efficient, magnificent beast in the boardroom. But Tony had never thought that she would turn those skills onto Harry, to drive him away from Tony's side. Regardless of how much logic he threw at the issue though, Tony was still angry about the whole thing, and felt he would be for some time.

It was getting to the point where Tony was fast losing trust in absolutely everyone around him. The only being that Tony felt could be counted on was Jarvis at this point in time. A being who wasn't even a physical person in the traditional sense of being alive. Created from Tony's own hands from near endless streams of brilliant coding, and carefully programmed to never betray Tony or pull a Skynet move without Tony's full consent and approval. Even then, Tony had built in an override, that Jarvis knew nothing about, just in case. The AI was self educating after all. There was always the chance, however small, of something going wrong, even with Tony's careful safety measures.

Tony's birth family had been crap from the get go, and the less said about them as Tony was growing up the better, in his opinion. Stane had tried to murder him using the Ten Rings and steal his company out from under him for his own ego stroking and greed. Pepper, it turns out, wore multiple faces, some of them rather disturbing. Leading to his loss of Harry, the love of his life, though he'd been too stupid to realize this fact at the time. And then there was Rhodey, who sometimes helped him, and sometimes stood there and watched Tony burn, ever since he'd gotten mixed up with the Military and Government.

As for Harry, Tony was uncertain how to feel anymore. He loved the man, that wasn't in question. He always would, no matter what happened. But almost everything that Tony knew about him was a carefully constructed fabrication to fool the outside world about his humanity. If the hallucination was to be believed. Tony was still struggling with the entire concept.

On top of all of this personal conflict and drama, there was his company to help Pepper run. New projects and inventions to be handled, and his self imposed Iron Man duties, still cleaning up far flung pockets of the mess Stane had created with Stark Weaponry.

Over all, Tony was starting to burn out.

He could feel it coming.

He was stretched too thin and was emotionally and mentally exhausted. Physically he wasn't too far behind.

So seeing Alice was a quiet moment that Tony was going to relish, regardless of Pepper's issues. Alice needed someone as much as Tony did right now, despite of their vastly differing reasons. Besides, with Alice Tony could be himself, however he felt in that moment in time, and the older woman never made him feel he had to be something, or something other than what he was.

It was refreshing, and right now, much needed.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

The home that Tony eventually pulled up to was beautiful, but not what he'd been expecting, considering Alice's usual extravagant taste in art and decor. It was much, much smaller than the home in London for one. But then, with just the two of them, Harry and Alice, what did they need so many empty rooms for? It was surrounded by quiet trees and the natural vegetation of the area. There were no immediate neighbors that Tony could see from the driveway. It was done simply on the outside in plae blue and white, with stone and wood accents.

The house was by itself on a quiet road, but not too far from town. It was overall nice, and the more Tony thought about it, the more he realized it fit Alice rather well. For all of Alice's flamboyance in the social scene, most of it was simply a ploy to fool unwary people into loosening their tongues around her. Tony had known for some time that the British woman was a social gossip shark, able to pry the darkest rumours and secrets from just about anyone. But at home, Alice was nearly a different creature altogether, she was much softer. This home reflected Alice more truthfully than the London Manor ever had.

Tony parked and took a moment to just look the place over from the outside, deciding after a few moments that while it was not something he personally would have thought of, it was a suitable choice. Tony got out of the car and walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell as he took in the front yard with its neat lawn and trimmed bushes. Now that he was out of the vehicle, Tony could hear the sound of the ocean waves not that far away. Briefly he wondered exactly how close the beach was.

He turned back when Alice opened the door and smiled at her in greeting. "Hello Alice, how was your flight?"

She was dressed simply in a blouse and jeans, something Tony rarely saw her wearing. Offering him a happy, but tired smile she opened the door wider to silently invite him to come into the house. "Long. But there were no delays, and we are here in one piece. Thank god for private planes. I don't want to even think about how I would have managed all this using a commercial airline."

Tony stepped into the house, immediately shaking his head at her words. "I wouldn't have let that happen Alice. I would have sent my own to pick you up whenever you said the word."

Alice laughed happily and leaned up to kiss his cheek as she took his coat to hang up in the front closet. "Anthony darling, you spoil an old woman. You are much more considerate and sweet than the media portrays you as. Its such a shame."

Tony just snorts in response. "Its not spoiling, and you're not old. You and Harry are family as far as I'm concerned. As for the media, they don't deserve to know."

They both descended into casual conversation as Alice proudly showed him around the new house. Despite not being what Tony had been picturing in his own mind for so long, it was still a decently sized home. It had a spacious open concept main floor with a lovely kitchen opening up to the back deck. Upstairs there were four large bedrooms each with their own closet space and private bathroom.

Two of the rooms were master bedrooms, Alice setting herself up in one, and Harry in the second. The decor of the house was very much to Alice's english taste, making Tony suspect that she'd had a professional decorator come in to set up before they'd moved in. That would be just like her to do. So the only thing she had to concern herself with was getting the both of them there safely. Downstairs from the spacious main floor there was also a full basement that had been set up as an office and library room. A nice private and quiet space to read, work or watch tv separate from the living room upstairs.

After being shown the house Tony and Alice settled down in the living room with some tea to wait for their dinner to show up. Tony, using Jarvis, had set it up to have a private dinner brought out to them. This way they could both enjoy fantastic food, and not leave Harry alone in the house unsupervised for hours. Tony would be staying the night in the guest room to help Alice settle in and set up the monitoring in Harry's room.

Privately, Tony had his own reasons for helping out, most of which were in line with Alice's own concerns with Harry's safety. Tony had to upload Jarvis into the new system to keep an eye on Harry while Tony himself wasn't there. This gave him the chance to reconnect and visit with the both of them. It also gave Tony the opportunity to check on Harry's Golem claims before the cameras were set up. The idea of which Tony chose not to think about too hard. The whole thing made him horribly uncomfortable, but he had to know for certain if he was losing his mind or not. This had to be put to rest. For his own sense of peace.

With dinner arrived, and enjoyed. Wine drunk in a little bit of excess by the both of them and then leftovers put away. Tony climbed the stairs to begin installing some of the monitoring system into Harry's room while Alice went to have to bath before going to sleep for the night. Tony would be up working on the opposite side of the house for a few hours yet before feeling tired enough to attempt sleep.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

Tony took his sweet time setting everything for the cameras up, reluctant to complete the task he was really here for. Every few minutes he would glance over at the still form of Harry, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of what he was going to do as time passed. Tony would be the first to admit that he's kind of a slut with women, but this was a little, _okay a lot_ , beyond his normal radar. Peeking at an unconscious person, while having very dubious consent to do so, was just not in his book of cool things to do in his spare time.

Finally there was nothing left for him to do other than upload Jarvis into the system and turn it on to begin monitoring. Tony was out of time, and out of valid excuses to procrastinate. Taking a deep slow breath he approached the bedside and gently drew away the covers, not able to look Harry in the face while doing so. Regardless of the fact he sort of had questionable permission to do this from Harry's hallucination, Tony was fully cognizant of the fact that what he was doing was a little bit insane. Not to mention highly illegal. He flatly refused to consider the morality of it.

With the cover now set aside, Harry was left in just his pajamas. Releasing the held breath in a shaky exhale, Tony steeled himself and as clinically as possible went about removing said pajama pants just enough that Tony could check Harry's true gender as swiftly as possible. At first glance, Harry had the correct male parts. However, a quick examination swiftly revealed to Tony that Harry's female genitalia was very much missing.

Blinking a little bit in surprise, Tony purses his lips in thought as he redressed the Golem quickly, then recovered him with the blanket. Tony was badly rattled. He truly had not expected to find Harry's words to be true. It pulled so much into question, yet also settled others that had been plaguing him since their meeting in the dreamscape. Tony's mind was a whirlwind of questions and conflicting thoughts, each one struggling to be the foremost in his mind. Stepping back from the Golem, Tony sat down on the edge of the nearby chair to try sorting himself out.

For a long moment Tony just stared at the golem, trying to center his thoughts. He wondered how Harry had managed such a remarkable looking double and resolved to ask him next time he got the chance to. The thought brought a silly grin to Tony's lips as he jarringly realized that Harry was okay. Harry was out there somewhere in space, working with his people and would be home in the time frame he's given to Tony. All he had to do was wait for him. With this realization, something within him seemed to settle.

Everything was alright. Harry was coming home, Tony just had to be patient. It wasn't a trait he normally possessed much of, but for Harry, Tony would persevere. He's already been waiting for over two years as it was, not knowing any different. What was two more in the long run? Leaning back in the plush armchair, Tony felt an almost physical release of the tension he'd been carrying around for the last few weeks.

Harry had been telling the truth.

Tony just kept repeating that to himself in his mind, blown away by the enormity of the fact. Harry was an alien, from a planet in the Gemini system, far, far from earth. Aliens were real, which also meant, however reluctantly, Tony had to accept that magic was real as well. Because Tony could not see why Harry would tell the truth about one, and not the other.

The thought made him grimace in distaste.

Magic just seemed so...messy...compared to the science that Tony was familiar with. Tony personally doubted that he would have much interest in the practice, regardless of what wonderful things Harry said about it. He just hoped that wouldn't cause problems between them when the other man returned.

Suddenly Tony sat bolt right up in his seat, horror welling up in his chest.

If the encounter with Harry had been real, then the actions taken while there had also been real, in a sense. It was certainly real to Tony. Which meant that he had accidentally cheated on Pepper.

 _Kinda? Was it really an accident when you had sex with someone you didn't think was real? He certainly chose to participate, he sure as hell didn't trip and fall into it._

The idea made Tony snort in shocked disbelief. Half amused and half horrified at himself.

 _Did it really matter one way or the other? Pepper mostly likely would consider it cheating, whatever the logistics of it. She would see it as confirmation of her own insecurities and distrust in him._

He wasn't sure what to make of that. It was against everything that he personally believed in, and yet he had committed the act. Granted he had not thought anything was real at the time, and he loved Harry to this day, so Tony sincerely did not regret that part of it.

 _But the result?_

Tony wasn't sure how to feel. He kept circling back in his between elation at Harry's approaching return and depressed that he'd proven Pepper right in her concerns regarding his fidelity.

 _Was it strange that he was more disturbed about being together with Pepper now that he knew that Harry was coming back to him, rather than upset at the accidental betrayal? Why did Tony feel as though he were betraying Harry instead of Pepper by staying with her?_

He cared deeply for Pepper, loved her in a way, but not like he loved Harry.

 _Did that make him a terrible person?_

Probably, but Tony was done lying to himself about how he felt with anything concerning Harry any longer. It had cost him too much in the past, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice if he could help it. Harry might not forgive him a second time.

But now this brought in the problem of Harry's words to Tony. Harry had given Tony blanket permission to stay with Pepper until he came home. Tony didn't know what to do with that in light of this confirmation of Harry's alienness. Where there any right answers in any of this? Tony needed Pepper right now. He was selfish enough to admit he didn't want to let her go at the moment. She kept him stable, was his rock. He didn't know what he would do with himself is she wasn't there to keep him focused on things outside of Iron Man and his lab work.

Frowning, Tony forced himself to take a step back from his emotions and examine all of the information he'd gathered since this whole mess had started. From that first day Tony had met Pepper Potts at the lunch table. He'd known the first time she sat down that she was after something. Everyone wanted something from him back then. And today.

Everyone thought they could figure out a way to get it from him. However, Pepper had been so blatant about her actions, that Tony had overlooked them after a bit. He'd thought that she was only looking for a friend at that time, or possibly a homework buddy. Now he wondered if it hadn't been something else entirely from the start.

Wrinkling his brow, Tony decided that, no. He didn't believe that Pepper had approached him at that time for an reason other than she had found him different, and interesting in comparison to their peers. Something had changed between then and when he'd seen her again years later at college. They had kept in touch those years through email mostly.

 _Had Pepper thought it was something other than friendship between them at that time? Was that what had sparked her hostility with Harry?_

 _Had he truly been that clueless, even though he was working his way through as many girls on campus as he could? Possibly._

Tony wasn't sure on that one, and he had no way of confirming if her feelings for him had been romantic, all the way back then. The idea of it was actually a little creepy.

 _She'd been one of his best friends for years now. Well before they'd been lovers. Could he really be with her until Harry came home, and then just leave her? Could he be that callous to someone he loved?_

Tony mulled that one over for a long time before slowly coming to the conclusion that, yes, he thought that he could. Harry in the end, was more important than anything else. Even if that meant losing Pepper forever. Because Tony was pretty sure that she would never forgive him if he did this. Truthfully, Tony would not blame her in the least.

It didn't sit well with Tony, but he thought that he'd come to a final choice on the matter. He would keep his silence. Keep Pepper happy for as long as he could, but he would not marry her. He would not promise her a life beyond what they had now. He'd made a promise to Harry, and he intended to keep it.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

While Tony was on earth having his perception of reality drastically altered, Harry was waking from the roughly two year long cryosleep. It began slowly, a though Harry was waking from a normal deep sleep. He blinked his eyes open lethargically, drowsily taking in the sight of the inside of the cryo chamber as his mind brought itself up to normal functioning speed. The mist in the chamber was mostly clear by now, and Harry could see dim light beyond the glass viewing panel in front of him.

With a sharp hiss the chamber door unlocked and cracked open. Harry reached out to push it the rest of the way open and found his limbs to be heavy and weak. He struggled to force the heavy metal door ajar when Kiran appeared in his view and opened it for him. Gentle hands reached into the pod before Harry could try to move himself out, lifting him from the cryo chamber with seemingly little strain. Lightly Harry was set on the floor.

Meloth knelt down and tilted Harry's head up, examining his eyes to see how aware he was. He gave a little smile as he realized that Harry was for the most part, coherent. "Hey there little Prince. You're doing fine, just like I promised you would."

Harry narrowed his eyes a bit at the other Valkyrie's teasing tone. His tongue stumbling over itself as he tried to say something scathing back, only managing to slur his words badly.

Meloth shook his head at the attempt, his expression serious now. "Relax my Prince. The mist is still working its way out of your system. The heaviness will soon fade, your balance will return shortly, and somewhere in there, you'll regain speech. It normally only takes a few minutes once you are out of the chamber. Then you can call me all the names you like." He finished with a grin, ruffling Harry's hair and earning himself an annoyed squawk and a pathetic attempt at a smack on the arm in retaliation. Meloth just chuckled and carefully helped Harry to his feet.

The Prince happened to glance over at Kiran and ended up blushing under the amused expression and raised eyebrow sent his direction. The older Valkyrie always managed to make Harry feel like such a child, without even trying. However, Kiran did not mention their silliness, instead, choosing to speak on other matters instead. "We are only an hour out from the mothership my Prince. Just enough time for us to recover and mentally prepare. Come. We're going to the main deck. You should be able to see the ship from there."

Turning on his heel he strode away, clearly expecting them to follow. They did, of course, but slowly. Harry gaining more control and confidence in his limbs as they moved down the corridor, and the mist was expelled from his system. By the time the three of them reached the main deck, Harry was mostly walking on his own two feet without Meloth's help.

Reaching the control deck, Harry found himself pausing in the middle of the room and looking it over with a new set of eyes. After his time with Lotus, Harry now better understood the writing on the walls in greater detail. He also better understood the controls that Kiran was currently dealing with over to one side. And while both of these things were startling to the young Prince, it was the view outside of the windows which fully captured his attention.

It was the Valkyrie mothership.

It was absolutely nothing like Harry had been picturing it in his mind all of this time. In his excitement and anticipation of what he would find at the end of his journey through space. Harry had thought the mothership would be large certainly; Sleek, high tech, shiny even. A beautiful blended creation of machine and magic. A bastion of accumulated Valkyrie knowledge and aesthetic. Powerful, breathtaking, awe inspiring even.

It was none of these things.

Instead, it was a mismatched hodgepodge of smaller ships that looked as though they had been haphazardly connected to the largest one in the center. So closely were these smaller ships clustered together, that Harry could not tell what the original shape of the mothership had been. The effect was certainly high tech, but it wasn't sleek, shiny or bright looking. Instead it looked bulky and cumbersome. It was dark, dull and banged up.

It looked, frankly, like a wielded together scrap heap that was incapable of supporting itself. Never mind the thousands of lives of his hibernating people. Harry was disappointed, and worried.

Turning, Harry quickly moved over to Kiran, who was busy typing code into his terminal. "Kiran...the mothership…" Harry trailed off, uncertain what to ask first. His mind racing with questions.

Kiran interrupted Harry's leading inquiry while frowning tensely at the scrolling coding in front of him, not looking up. "Yes, I know my Lord. There has obviously been a drastic change in circumstances. According to the logs there are thousands more Valkyrie than we were anticipating. Certainly much more than were here when your mother left the ship for earth."

Harry drew in a sharp breath at the words, but Kiran continued again before he could speak. Seemingly anticipating Harry's next question before it could come out of his mouth. "It seems that we have arrived just in time. The life support systems are strained to their maximum, they cannot continue as they have been for much longer. At some point soon, something will give, even with the patchworking that they have obviously been doing along the way."

Nervous, Harry absently ran his fingers along the edge of the table. "How many people are we talking about Kiran? Total?"

Kiran sighed, straightening up to look at the ship out of the window, his expression grim. "We were expecting roughly thirty thousand Valkyrie. That is the number that were put into Cryo when your mother left for earth on the Shuttle, using the last of the fuel from our homeworld. At that time there were no additional ships attached to the mothership, and we were not anywhere close to full. With the additional ships holding well over full capacity, adding to that number. We're estimating closer to a million."

Harry just stared at him, stunned. Green eyes flicking from the ship, to kiran, and over to Meloth, who looked just as grim as his brother. When Harry found his voice, it was a hoarse whisper. "A million? Surely not? That many survived and found us? Out here? How? Where are we going to put them Kiran?!"

Kiran just shook his head. "I don't know my Lord, but we cannot leave them here. The systems are going to fail, soon. We need to move them as quickly as possible. Even then, I'm unsure we can move them all. The plan was to shuttle them back and forth over a few trips. However, with the added population to the mothership, this will not work. They've burnt through what remained of the fuel keeping everything running."

Harry bit his lip, staring down at the floor. _How could he salvage this situation? And if he couldn't, how could he save as many as possible?_

Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to calm his racing heart. _This was not his fault, it was no one's fault. Of course valkyrie had followed them, of course they had taken in survivors. How could they not? How could Harry have not have anticipated this? He knew very well how strong the will to survive was. He needed to think of something._

Turning his thoughts inward, Harry reached for that cold place within himself. That place that allowed him to detach and look at the world through the eyes of a survivor. The man he had been in his previous life, and still carried a part of in his soul.

Slowly Harry's racing heart slowed down, his frantic thoughts began to settle. Harry firmly pushed down his wild emotions as forced himself to consider all the variables coldly. The mothership's life-support systems would not support the multitude of lives it carried much longer. The systems were stretched beyond safe or reasonable repair at this point. They had little left to give. Harry and his people on earth had not realized, or planned for the extra space needed for these extra lives.

However, that was secondary at this point. If Harry did not find a way, only a tiny fraction of his people would live, and this was not acceptable. They could not carry anywhere near that many people on this small shuttle, even if they were packed in like sardines.

 _The shuttle._

Harry wanted to smack himself.

How had Harry gotten onto the ship in the first place? The Black gate. Somehow, Harry would have to hold open the gate long enough for his people to go through. As many people at a time as possible. It was the only option that Harry could see that had any hope of getting everyone down to earth.

Harry pulled himself from his internal musings to find Meloth and Kiran in a tense discussion by another terminal. They were trying desperately to find some way of extending the functions of the life support systems on the mothership.

Sharply Harry called to them. "Kiran! The Gate! Walk them through the gate. As many, and as quickly as possible!"

They both looked up from their semi-argument, brow furrowed for a moment as they considered it. After a minute, Meloth spoke, starting out hesitantly, but gaining more conviction as he continued on. "It might work, the gate on Earth was left open in case of an emergency. I don't know what would happen if that many people passed through it all in succession however. It has never been used for mass travel before. It was fairly new technology before the Skrull invaded. But, I don't see why it would not work."

Kiran made a unsure noise in his throat. "You are both forgetting something. Harry has to be the one to hold the gate open on this end. His magic powers it. He has to pull each person into the circle for them to pass through the gate. The queen's protections still hold, and I don't know how to undo them."

Harry strode towards them, determination in his movements. "I'll hold the Gate. I know I can. Have them all link hands. So long as the chain remains unbroken, I should only have to bring them into the circle at the beginning of the line. Then I can concentrate fully on holding the gate open. I'll hold it open until every last one of them is through. I won't let anyone die out here if I can possibly prevent it."

Kiran scowled at him. "Even if it means your life, my Prince?"

Harry nodded. "Even if it means my life."

"Stupid boy!" Kiran shouted, Meloth wincing in sympathy.

Harry jerked, taken aback at his mentor's harsh tone.

"The loss of your life, the last of the royal bloodline, is not acceptable! It is not a victory! We need you on Earth to lead us. Do you know what will happen to the Clans if you die? There will be squabbles! Infighting, as everyone scrambles to claim the remnants of a throne. The humans would discover us in the middle of our own civil war! What then, my Prince? War with the Humans as well? Many lives would be lost, Valkyrie and Human alike. You would have given up your life for nothing. You cannot think of this only in the short term."

Harry frowned, but didn't back down. "It's the only plausible option we have Kiran!"

The older Valkyrie's shoulders slumped as he sighed, lowering his voice in defeat. "I know. I know, my Prince."

Kiran straightened back up, fixing an intense stare on Harry. "However, you will not sacrifice your life for this. We'll use the Gate. We'll save as many as we can, but if it comes to a choice between your life and whoever is left. I _WILL_ drag you through that gate myself. I don't care how you punish me afterwards. Understand?"

Suppressing a smile, Harry nodded. He didn't know how long he could hold the gate open for, but he suspected it would be for a decent amount of time. If it came down to it, Harry would try to tap into his godling magic in an attempt to hold it longer. But he wasn't going to try and explain that to Kiran or Meloth. Some things were just better left in silence.

Let them wonder.

 _ ***~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~*~ MB ~***_

It was another two hours before the small shuttle was close enough to hail the larger ship, alerting them of their peaceful presence and intentions. Only a short time after that initial message, Kiran was relieved to have someone hail him back. They learned that most of the Valkyrie on the mothership were in cryo-sleep, requiring a few hours for them to be woken up and organized for the trip home. The relief in the other Valkyrie's voice was immensely evident. Fraying the Lotus's occupants nerves even further.

It made Harry sadly wonder how many others had begun to lose hope of their Earth-bound kin ever returning for them. The idea made his heart ache for them. Harry couldn't imagine what it must have been like. The closest thing he could relate to it was his isolation in the cupboard under the stairs. Even with these painful memories to draw empathy from, Harry didn't believe they were a close enough comparison.

These Valkyrie had been expecting their Queen back years ago. Now there was no Queen. At least not the one that they would remember saving them. There was only Harry, and truthfully, he wasn't sure if he fell into the category of King or Queen. Harry fully considered himself to be male. But he knew full well that being mated to Tony, a human male incapable of carrying babes, would require Harry himself to carry their offspring instead.

Harry made a mental note to question Kiran or Lotus on that matter later. Clarification was definitely required. Soon. Harry would only be considered a Prince until he was fully mated. Then his title would change permanently to reflect his status appropriately.

Before long, the Lotus shuttle was safely docked at one of the mothership's many small craft ports. One of the few that remained unoccupied by other refugee ships. Confident that Kiran and Meloth could handle preparation arrangements, Harry let them know he would be in the gate room, readying himself to channel the huge amounts of magic required for the arduous task ahead.

Though as he was leaving the command deck, Harry did firmly order Meloth and Kiran to not reveal who he was to anyone until after all the tasks to bring their people safely home were complete. Harry could not afford to be bothered or distracted in any way while he was controlling the gate. Better overly paranoid preparation than an accident or miscalculation costing lives, as far as Harry was concerned.

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With the situation being what it was, everyone was in a rush to get off the failing space ship as quickly as possible. As such, Harry would be able to avoid the formal ceremonies and introductions that had been planned for on the long journey from Earth. Everyone was too concerned with getting off the failing mothership as soon as realistically possible. So for the time being, Harry was spared the pompous posturing and play acting that seemed to go hand in hand with politicians and nobles alike.

Harry did not believe that the request of keeping his identity secret would make much difference in the grand scheme of things. His people would be too busy and keen to get safely to Earth to wonder for long just who he was.

To say that Harry was relieved to have to miss out on the court drama, at least for the moment, in lieu of more important matters, was a vast understatement.

However, Harry suspected he would not be able to get out of performing these particular duties in the long run. At some point, everything would settle down, and the Valkyrie manning the Council would demand to see him. Harry somehow doubted it would take the Council very long before they were making unhappy demands on his time.

He was very much not looking forward to it if they were anything like the Ministry Officials he'd had to deal with in his previous lifetime. If they were, the Council members were going to find out the ugly way that Harry was not going to put up with that level of stupidity, greed or petty selfishness. Harry was fully prepared for the backlash he might experience replacing members, or dissolving the Council altogether. Regardless, Harry was not going to allow his Valkyrie to destroy themselves the way the Wizarding World insisted on doing in his previous lifetime.

Harry was not above a implementing a Monarch run Dictatorship at this point. So long as his people survived and thrived, that was all Harry cared about. Politicians, though he was well trained in how to deal with them, always left a sour taste in his mouth.

The less Harry had to deal with them, the better. For everyone involved.

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When Harry reached the gate chamber he his took time examining the runes on the archway with a new understanding of the complicated spellwork carefully inscribed into the metal. His smile widening a little more at each new rune and spell layer discovered. The Lotus learning program had been a wonderful thing. He didn't remember learning any of these symbols, however their meaning came to the forefront of his mind with ease. Proving Lotus' claim that much of what Harry would learn would be downloaded to his subconscious. Permitting him to absorb much more at an accelerated rate. Harry's personal reservations of anyone mucking about in his head aside, the time spent was already proving to be quite useful.

While Harry remembered much of Wizarding spellwork from his previous life, he was still learning how to combine that with Valkyrie magic. As a race, it was rare for them to produce many children with any magical talent beyond the camouflage they were born with. Because of this, willing teachers were few and far between. The Magi Valkyrie that could wield such magics jealously hoarded and guarded what they learned, sharing little with anyone not their own chosen apprentice.

For a race so far advanced in many ways, Harry thought they were sadly primitive in this area. How was one suppose to increase talent in magic if no one was willing to search out those children who could use it and teach them? It was something Harry had only recently realized was a widespread problem that had nothing to do with the decline in their population after the Skrull invasion, and everything to due with Magi increasing their own power bases. Whether personal power, or Clan power, it didn't matter. It was shortsighted and needed to be remedied to increase the overall power of their race as a whole. Perhaps if there had been more proficient Magi, the Skrull invasion would not have been as devastating. It was just one more thing added to Harry's ever growing pile of projects.

The gate itself truly was a work of sophisticated art. Whoever had created it was a genius. It had far more potential than what it was being used for. However, until Harry could take the time to unravel it fully, he was not going to let anyone know that the arch was anything more than a gateway from one preset place to another. Harry wondered briefly if his mother had known just how powerful an artifact she had absconded with. The mere thought of the Skrull getting their hands on either of the two gates left Harry cold inside with dread. Luckily, Harry knew that there had only been two made, and both had escaped the clutches of their enemy.

Stepping back from his examination, Harry picked a place on the floor within the gate's circle of runes and sat down. Making himself comfortable he closed his eyes and took slow calming breaths to center himself. When Harry felt himself to be balanced, and all other distracting thoughts had faded away, he reached out for his magical core. It rose up to greet him with warm enthusiasm, eager to be of use. For a time Harry remained in this peaceful place until the first wave of refugees were ready for him to open the gate for their passage to Earth gate. To Harry, deep in his own center of power, the wait hardly took any time at all. However, in truth several hours had passed since he'd entered the Gate chamber.

During this lapsed time that Harry spent in meditation preparing himself, Meloth and Kiran were diligently working with the few crew aboard the Mothership who were awake. Between them all, they slowly, but efficiently managed to wake several hundred sleeping Valkyrie and prepare them for their short journey to Earth through the Black Gate. Families with the youngest children were prioritised. In Kiran's view, though he didn't voice his thoughts, these families were more valuable in the long run. Proven breeders, and already paired with their lifemate, they were the most needed to boost a floundering population. Next they intended the single Valkyrie to go through the gate, then the more senior members. It was a cold stance to take, but if something went wrong, it was a sad fact that the older Valkyrie were the least damaging to lose. Though everyone would feel the loss, especially Harry, knowledge could be replaced in time. Fresh blood to keep their race going, could not. They were already teetering close to the line as it was. Interbreeding too much with the human population would eventually breed the Valkyrie race right out of existence as they were now. It was going to be a mess for many years to come, and Kiran did not in the least envy Harry's luck in having to carefully navigate this particular problem. With the first group ready and organized, and the crew from the mothership waking more people, Kiran turned down the hallway to alert Harry it was time to begin. He left Meloth with the Valkyrie boarding the shuttle. He could answer any last moment questions and settle the restless little ones and their nervous parents.

When Kiran reaches the gate chamber he quiets his steps so as to not startle his Prince. Kneeling down next to him, Kiran carefully tries to pull Harry from his meditation. Slowly Kiran's soft voice brought Harry close enough to the surface for him to understand what was being said to him. By the time that Harry was fully able to bring himself to the present he immediately became aware of many people in the room with him. The only familiar faces were Kiran and Meloth who stood near him tensely in a clearly protective stance what somewhat amused him, everyone else was a stranger, all of whom were watching him with nervous curiosity.

Harry's eyes scanned over them all as he slowly got to his feet. He took note of how many of them flinched back when their eyes met with his own, which he suspected had once again shifted to their gleaming black color. Mothers pulled their young ones closer, and their mates shifted protectively near them, uncertain how to respond to the strange Valkyrie in front of them. Harry didn't let himself be bothered by their reaction, instead concentrating on what he needed to do.

Wrapped in his own power, Harry felt as though he were moving in slow motion underwater. The odd sensation was somewhat floaty and weightless. Without speaking he gave the unfamiliar Valkyrie gathered as reassuring a smile as he could manage in this state, and left Kiran or Meloth to give the other Valkyrie instructions. He turned to the gate and walked up to it, pulling the dagger he'd kept with him from the first crossing from a pocket. With barely a blink Harry slashed the meaty part of his palm open and smeared his blood in the appropriate places on the arch. Pausing his actions only long enough to be sure his blood was absorbed by the metal before tucking the dagger back into his pocket. Already the wound on his palm was knitting itself closed, and Harry barely felt the sting of it.

Words rose up from his throat, rhythmic and resonating as Harry called his power to him to open the gateway. He closed his eyes and hardly heard the words themselves as they left his lips. Sound faded away as he tuned his senses to the task before him. The people gathered behind him however, were fascinated with the display before them. Very few of them had ever seen powerful magic before, and so watched avidly as the runes on the walls blazed to life with black fire. They held their breath as the lightening crawled over the archway just as it had done with the gateway on Earth. It was a rather intimidating spectacle, though Harry at this point was oblivious to the crowds reactions.

However, unlike the occurrence on Earth, here there was no uncontrolled burst of power which knocked everyone from their feet. This time Harry was fully aware of his power, and the amount he was feeding to the magical artifact before him. The gate hummed to life much more calmly under his chanting, and when the words slowly faded, there was only a single sharp crack in the air before the portal opened. Revealing the distortion within the arch which reminded Harry very much of a glimmering soap bubble.

Calmly, Harry opened his eyes. Confirming that everything looked to be working as it was meant to, he turned his attention to the Valkyrie who would be passing through it. Already they were all linked by their hands, gripping their neighbors tightly. Mothers with infants had them tied closely to their chests. Harry could clearly see that many of them were afraid, but he had no words to comfort them right now. Couldn't spare the concentration it would take to try to ease them. The gate was their only option.

Stepping to the edge of the rune circle, Harry held out his left hand for the first in line to take. It was a petite pretty Valkyrie who looked to barely be in the realm of what was considered mature. Pale blonde hair curled around a soft face framing large grey eyes. For just a second, Harry was startled by the sharp resemblance to another blonde boy so very long ago, in another lifetime. Just like then, this young one tilted their chin up in a haughty manner to disguise fear. The Valkyrie boldly stepped forward to take Harry's outstretched hand. Holding the other Valkyrie's gaze, Harry pulled the first one through the ring of runes on the floor.

Breaking the stare with Harry, the blonde Valkyrie turned away, walking through the gate's void without a moment's falter or hesitation. Leaving Harry staring after the retreating back and wondering. Taking a step back out of the way, Harry watched as the line shuffled slowly through the gate. It seemed endless, but Harry was determined to make sure that each one in this group made it into the gate safely. Thus far, there were no mishaps. All he had to do was watch and wait, feeding his magic to the gate to hold it open for them.

Dimly he could hear Meloth and Kiran keeping everyone organized and making sure everyone had linked hands before getting anywhere near Harry or the gate. Outside of this there was near silence. The whole procession seemed hushed and grave. Harry was unsure what to make of it, and could not spare the concentration to ponder it out at this time. He trusted his companions to make sure everything went smoothly, and so pushed it from his mind for the time being.

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Over time the line moved rather swiftly when all things were considered, though Harry was completely unaware of this by the end of it. Harry had completely immersed himself in his center of power some time ago once he wasn't needed to help direct the flow of traffic through the portal.

In fact, Harry was barely aware of anything outside of the declining balance of power within himself and the greedy feeding of the gateway. Some time ago He'd had to sit down and lean against the metal of the gate, cutting down the distance his power needed to travel, and saving himself some energy in the process. Harry only became aware again when Kiran was gently shaking his shoulder to get his attention. Blurrily, Harry forced himself to focus for a moment on the Valkyrie in front of him, calling his name softly.

"Meloth?" Harry slurred softly, causing the other to frown in worry.

"Yes my Prince. All of this group are through the gate now. Its just the three of us for the time being. Kiran has already informed the crew that you need a rest period before the next wave. You did very well. All of them have gotten through safely from this side." Gently Meloth reached out to stroke the Prince's hair from his eyes, where it had fallen.

Harry just blinked in response, dark eyes flicking around the room and noting that it was indeed empty save for the three of them remaining. Kiran stood within the circle with them, close to the void as he waited, watching the both of them with clear concern. Slowly Harry nodded and Meloth carefully helped him to his feet.

The brothers eyes met over Harry's head and shared an uneasy glance as Harry stumbled and struggled to keep his feet from giving way under his own weight. Gently, each one grabbed an arm and steadied him as best they could with Harry listing from one side to the other. Kiran's voice was soft and coaxing in Harry's ear.

"Come my Prince, just a few minutes more and you'll be laying down. Then you can rest for as long as you need to."

A barely audible hum in confirmation was all the reply Harry gave him as he leaned heavily against the older Valkyrie. Together they carefully navigated their Prince to one of the rooms with a bed for active crew. To their concern, Harry was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Meloth quickly checked Harry's pulse, and found it to be a little slow from fatigue, but otherwise normal. Grimly Meloth met his brother's worried gaze.

"He's alright, just very tired. He's likely to sleep for some hours before stirring."

Kiran sighed in resignation, rubbing his eyes as he felt a stress headache starting behind them. "This is going to be a long, drawn out process, isn't it?"

Meloth shrugged in response as he tucked the blanket around Harry's still form, then straightened up again. "Depends entirely on how quickly Harry is able to rejuvenate himself. In either case, whether he's able to recover swiftly or not, he's going to need to rest after each group goes through, and they cannot be larger than the one we've already sent on. Some of the larger groups will have to be broken up into more manageable ones."

Frowning Kiran nodded, his mind already whirling away with plans and adjustments as they left the room, the metal door closing with a soft whoosh behind them. While Harry slept there was still much to be done, Kiran and Meloth would be awake for some hours before they too could find time to rest themselves.

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When Harry woke and found himself something to eat, they were all pleased to discover that Harry was a near full magical strength once more. Harry silently marveled at this development because he'd never recovered this quickly in the past. In this lifetime or the one before. After thinking about it while eating, he could only conclude that something had fundamentally changed when Death had gifted him with the Hollows. Harry determined that he would ask her about it at some later point, and then turned his attention back to his task.

Getting the second wave of refugees through the gate was just as taxing this time as it had been before, and Harry found he had to rest for a longer time for the group after that. He was completely exhausted at the end of each opening of the gate, but was determined to keep on until he could get them all through safely.

Days began to blur together in Harry's mind. His schedule one of eating, sleeping and working his magical core to near depletion, then repeating, completely destroyed his sense of time. Kiran was well aware however, that nearly three weeks had passed since this idea was begun. Harry had lost weight despite eating regularly, he was pale, and listless. It frightened Meloth and Kiran both, but Harry was determined and would not be talked out of his plans. He kept insisting that he was just fine, only tired, but the brothers could see that this needed to be resolved sooner rather than later. No matter what argument they tried though, Harry would not be moved from his decision. Short of hauling Harry through the gate themselves, and abandoning the remain Valkyrie, they could not some up with anything, and the latter was not an acceptable solution to any of them.

Another two weeks passed before the last of the Valkyrie had made it safely through the gate. Harry swayed unsteadily on his feet before collapsing on the floor, unable to rouse himself much further than a sitting position as the humming from the gate died down. When it was safe for them to approach, Meloth made sure that Harry had some water before settling him down to rest once more. They would only open the gate one more time to get themselves home.

While Harry and Meloth slept, Kiran made sure the final preparations were underway. The mothership was empty, save for themselves. They had successfully rescued all of the stranded valkyrie. The Lotus program had carefully downloaded itself into a datadisk and was already in Kiran's pocket. Once they had left the ship, all the computer programs would cease to function. Lotus somehow had a way of making itself inacessible to anyone other than Harry and planned to use this function to effectively disable itself on the shuttle. Harry had made it very clear that Lotus was not to be left behind. Kiran frankly agreed, The AI program was too valuable a tool to be left floating in space, unutilized, and possibly end up in the hands of anyone else.

The only major problem they had run into, aside from Harry's worrying health, was what to do about the gate. They weren't able to take it with them. Though Harry had again and again assured them that he had a way to retrieve it; he was not forthcoming on an explaination on how he planned to accomplish this. Leaving his companions frustrated and clueless, but unable to offer a solution themselves. Even if they took the two years to fly the shuttle all the way back to Earth, they still had no way of removing the gate from the craft once there. With no other alternative, they simply had to trust that Harry had the situation well in hand, and let the debate go.

When Harry woke again they wasted little time. Everything had been prepared beforehand for this last journey. Taking one last look around, worn down, but elated, Harry reached for his magic once more. As one, the three of them carefully stepped into the shifting void of the black gateway and returned to their home on Earth.


	16. All the Little Pieces

Warnings:

This is Part One of the Avengers movie, for everyone who keeps asking me about the timeline. I am not detailing the whole movie over again, I'm only putting in the parts I need to keep the story rolling. Things may have been added or changed, PAY ATTENTION, please. If a part has been skipped over, then assume it proceeded as the film did.

Lots of POV jumping around, so again, PAY ATTENTION!

The second part of this is being written, but it will take me a little bit to work out all the little details how I like them, please be patient with me as you have been thus far.

Language, because I cannot picture Clint not swearing up a storm in this situation.

Also, my bad poetry skills at work. You have been warned.

****Thanks for all the readers and reviews who continue to stick with me and this story despite my long time between updates. I adore you guys, you keep me going when life get hectic, or I'm struggling with a point in the story. This chapter might not be terribly exciting, but I wanted to thank you all the same, and offer you something back.

So here it is, please enjoy!

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Harry doesn't remember the trip home, the last thing that Harry recalls with any clarity, was stepping into the shifting vortex with Kiran and Meloth by his side, tired but content with their accomplishments on their journey. He was excited for the last step back to his familiar home, and back to Tony so much sooner than he initially anticipated. He was looking forward to arranging their reunion after all this time and heartache between them. There was much Harry still had to sit down and discuss with the gorgeous man, of course, some of it upsetting and unpleasant, but Harry was hopeful that everything would work out in the end. Tony was his mate, after all, the one chosen for him above everyone else.

It had to end with them finally together, finally happy, right?

Everything else after this clear bright, happy thought process, is a hazy, blurry rush of confusing color and sensation recall. The first thing Harry noticed upon stepping through the portal was a disorientation that instantly alarmed him. A frantic warning screamed through his magical pathways, just a heartbeat too late to be of use.

He felt the sensation of something straining and stretching before brutally tearing apart deep inside of himself. Indescribable agony flamed over his nervous system, shocking Harry's system so hard, so fast, he couldn't figure out how to breathe. He had a flicker of thought to realize what an idiot he had been, stepping through an interstellar portal powered by his own magic, before icy numbness stole all feeling from his body and blackness took away the last remaining spark of his consciousness.

Harry was oblivious to the chaos his arrival caused when Meloth and Kiran appeared from the earth gate with his limp form hanging between them. He heard nothing of the shouting, or the frantic running around by his people as they panicked upon seeing his state. He was in fact, quite ignorant of his body being carefully laid on the cool stone floor of the chamber by Meloth, while Kiran rose to organize the panicked Valkyrie around him with authoritative steel in his voice. Harry was deaf to Meloth's soft pleas, the strained cursing under his breath, as he carefully wiped the blood from Harry's nose, eyes, and ears.

Harry was peacefully incognizant to it all and would remain so for some time.

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Asgard: Grand Hall.

Frigga, the revered Queen-Mother of all Asgard, treasured conquest wife of the great King Odin, rumored goddess of marriage, childbirth, and prophecy, gazed out over the golden glittering banquet hall serenely. The room she was currently presiding in was of near cavernous size, with high vaulted ceilings and exquisite tapestries adorning the cool grey stone walls. Three man sized fireplaces roared and crackled with bright exuberance. There was one on each opposing wall and a larger circular one in the center of the hall, which was often used for spit roasting livestock before the banquet tables. All of them were warming the entirety of the large gathering space quite well. Overall, it was a beautifully lush picture of extravagant wealth, both in menu and decoration. Elegant music crafted by unseen musicians, who were hidden in little side alcoves, drifted lightly through the celebratory air. A soft background pleasantness to the revelry taking place in front of her.

Her soft lips were turned up in just a hint of an attractive smile, pale, sharp eyes taking in every detail of the warriors, court nobles and servants who made merry at her bountiful tables, so loaded with food they nearly groaned under the sheer amount and weight of it. The royal kitchens, with their excellent chefs and cooks, had been given a relatively loose rein on the menu for this night, though Frigga had glanced over the offerings for the final approval of the menu. Wines, beers, ales and spirits all flowed freely from pricelessly crafted pitchers, expertly wielded by her serving boys and girls. Odin had opened the Palace wine cellar for this night, with typical drunken results. Usually, the Warriors and the Court Nobles did not mix well for long periods of time. Many were simply too different in their mindset, each seeing themselves as superior and their counterpart lacking. Normally Frigga found this somewhat vexing and amusing in equal measures. But not tonight. Tonight they all seemed to be in agreement with one another. Tonight they all rejoiced and indulged in the generosity of their King.

Fools.

She watched them feast to their gluttonous heart's content. Her eyes took in those who drank excessively, bellowed across the room, pinched the serving lasses or lads bottoms, and just generally made piggish cretins of themselves. All the while she smiled and made small conversation. Frigga was polite, demure and poised in turn as needed. Never overeating, nor overindulging in her cups. She took her time, taking small bites and sips. This gave the illusion that she caroused with the lot of them, but still permitted her to keep her dignity and grace at the end of it all. Her public image must never shatter or crack. Not in front of those who were undeserving. Currently, she found none who were in this hall that were. This included her husband-King. Instead, she presented all with what they wanted to see, dull creatures that they were. Frigga was happy that her husband was alive and well enough, considering his age and health. She was, of course, happy that her other son was returned to her from his exile safely. Even if her opinions and emotions on the series of events were less than complimentary to her station.

Truthfully, Frigga was furious beneath her tranquil exterior. There were plenty of harsh words residing in her secret heart. More than enough to go around for them all, including herself. She was utterly disgusted with the situation at hand, none more so than her bedmate, though as Queen she could not express it publically. King Odin, in his oh so great wisdom, had decided that a distraction was needed for the common people to uplift their spirits after the Frost Giants had somehow invaded their secure palace. After Thor, their much-beloved Crown Prince had nearly started a war with King Laufey in his bloodthirsty arrogance. And after losing their youngest Prince when he fell from the shattered rainbow bridge. There was much more to the story of course, so much more. But the people had been informed of only the barest bones of it. The only details given out were the ones that could not be disguised or swept under the rug. The notion caused her eyes to glitter with suppressed rage.

How dare they. The heartless craven bastards. All of them. Each and every one.

How dare they drink my wine, eat the food at my table, celebrate, when my youngest son is dead? How dare they be happy in the face of my bitter grief? Their beloved Prince Thor's?

Thor had flatly refused to attend this gathering in the first place, regardless of the commands of his father, preferring to drink his sorrows in the privacy of his rooms. While Frigga was not pleased with this method of coping, she understood. However, what burned her most of all, was this.

How dare her husband even put together this vulgar travesty in the first place?

Frigga had rarely wanted to claw her husband-King's eyes out as dearly as she wanted to at this moment now. More often than not in the many, many years they had been wed, it had something to do with Loki. But her fury did not rest solely with Odin, despite him bearing the brunt of her displeasure privately. How conveniently the people forget that her youngest son had rightly held the throne when the Frost Giants had come in, while her oldest son was exiled from his home. How quick they were to dismiss the fact that Thor's fighting companions had disobeyed the current ruling monarch to fetch their preferred prince from Midgard instead. Regardless of the outcome of things, their actions were treasonous. No one spoke a whisper of this, however. No one mentioned how Loki was fully within his rights to command them as he had to remain on Asgard. Instead, they gossiped about ugly rumors. Frigga had lost count of the many times she had overheard the whispered accusations against Loki. How he conspired to let the Frost Giants in. How he tried to murder his father. There were worse ones as well, which was unsurprising. Palace gossip and rumors always spawned bigger and greater tellings than the last.

She listened. She remembered. And she grieved. Frigga loved Loki, but he had always been a complicated and difficult child for other to understand. Frigga had been able to connect with him the best, and their bond had been strong in spite of the other turmoil in their lives. Over time, he'd only grown into an even more labyrinthine man. It was painful, to love her family as much as she did and had them constantly hurting each other. None of them were blameless in these events, not even herself. Too many times she had turned blind eyes to other's actions. Others against Loki, and Loki against others. Frigga had ever hoped that her youngest would find happiness in his own way and settle down. But it seemed that it was not to be, despite her best efforts.

Perhaps that had always been a silly fantasy of my own making.

She is forced from her musings as Odin gently reaches for her hand. Instinctively she wants to flinch away from him. She didn't even want to look at the man right now. Unfortunately, needs must, as the saying went. So she turns carefully curious eyes to him, tilting her head a bit in silent inquiry. Odin gazes at her solemnly for a heartbeat, plainly aware that his Queen is displeased with him. However, she would never air their squabbles in public, and it was required of him to lead the first dance of the evening with her on his arm. She reads his question and intent in his eyes and nods her head delicately in acquiesce. They rise gracefully from their seats, from the royal table, in tandem, hand in hand. It was only a few moments for the crowd to quiet down a bit. When it did, he leads Frigga out onto the open floor. The soft, elegant swish of her gown the only noise aside from the music and the crackling fire. She watches Odin nod his head to one of the unseen musicians, and the notes shift to a tune made more lively for dancing. She turns towards him, instinctively falling back on years of dance lessons without a conscious thought. His arm swept gently but firmly around her waist as he guides her across the floor.

This is the last thing that Frigga remembers clearly until much later into the night. She doesn't recall the wave of near overwhelming dizziness that causes her to stumble, forcing her husband to pause in their dance steps. She doesn't remember falling to the floor, or hear the concerned exclamations of her husband and subjects. She is unknowing of how her eyes glaze over in the rare, but not unfamiliar way they alway have before a Prophecy grips her. Frigga does not see Odin's sharp gesture to quiet the room around them. She is only dimly aware of a rushing need to part her lips and speak, though the words themselves elude her hearing. Her voice echoes strongly in the Hall, rasping and harsh, as though the heavy words were torn from somewhere deep within her, rather than her vocal cords.

Three together will rise, Three together will fall.

Hungry soul hollow beasts stir in darkest Void,

a monstrous army most foul, nearly forgotten by time.

Once tethered, brought to heel by a terrible myth of olde,

Now loosed - slip silent, free between the Realms.

The mad one turns restless eyes upon us,

guardians of the sacred stones of power.

Beware all! The World Killer comes!

Fleeing through blackness & stars-

A race lost, a Clan depleted, Last of Royal blood.

The sleeping God & his people come.  
He of Death, Peace & Resurrection! 

Wintertide's stolen sovereign,

born in lands of eternal ice and snow.

Fallen false Prince from Halls of Gold.

He of Betrayal, Vengeance & Wrath!

Metal Phoenix-born in blood, in sand, in fire

With iron plumage, Crimson fire & Gold

A match, a counterpart, A Valkyrie's Fateful mate

He of War, Hope & Redemption!

The Deathless Reborn, The Fallen Winter Prince, The Metal Firebird

Shared destinies, entwined fates, united hand-in-hand

Prince of a broken Throne, Ruler of a displaced Kingdom, & Mortal Man

Gather your armor Warriors! Take up your shields Defenders!

Mount your steeds! Man your stations!

Raise up your bows, your swords, your spears!

Armies march across The Nine!

Three together will rise, Three together will fall.

Frigga emerges slowly from her daze to a flurry of activity around her. She is no longer in the Hall. Instead, she seems to be surrounded by Healers. She frowns, disoriented and confused on how it is she's ended up here. Mentally checking herself, she finds that she is exhausted, but otherwise feeling fine. Nothing hurts, and she doesn't feel ill. It is as she is sitting up, the cream colored sheet pooling in her lap, that one of the Healers notices that she is now awake, and bustles over to her with a relieved expression.

"My Queen! Good to see you back with us. You had a bit of a fainting spell while in the great Hall. How are you feeling?" The young lady is rather pleasantly plump, with dark hair and cinnamon colored eyes.

It takes Frigga a moment to place why this woman was so familiar to her, but she recalls the young woman's name rather quickly. "I believe I'm alright Hilda. I don't remember much, however, what happened?"

Hilda smiles at her as she pours her Queen a glass of water from the pitcher at the bedside. Handing it to Frigga for her to sip at, as she sits down on the chair next to the Queen's bedside. "Nothing too alarming Highness. You Spoke another Prophecy tonight. His Majesty brought you here just to ensure you hadn't hurt yourself when you collapsed. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with you other than a needing of more rest."

Frigga offers a weary smile to the subtle admonishment. It was one of the things she both loved and hated about the people who heard the Healer's Calling. It did not matter what the patient's ranking in society was; they were all treated like naughty children when they ended up in here, especially if one was choosing to be stubborn. It was at times, a rather refreshing break from both her critics and her bootlicking ass-kissers. Both were tiresome vipers in their ways. Frigga inclined her head in acknowledgment of Hilda's words, well aware of her poor sleeping for quite a few nights now. "I know that I should be sleeping more Healer, however, with recent events these last weeks, I find it nearly impossible to rest unless I almost drop from exhaustion."

Hilda's face softened at this. She sighs in gentle sadness. "Yes my Queen, I do understand. Losing a child is a terrible burden on any mother, no matter who she is. I know the younger Prince was not everyone's favorite. He wasn't the warmest personality. But the Healer's Craft do miss him and feel his absence. His knowledge and inventiveness with herbs have saved more lives that I think people realize."

Frigga feels something warm in her breast. It startles her a little, as she had not realized she felt so cold and hollow inside. Her anger had sustained her thus far and shielded her from this feeling before. Though, with Hilda's kind words she became aware of it. It was good to know that there were others who missed her boy besides herself and Thor. She was unsure of her husband's feelings on the matter. She'd not spoken to him unless she's had no choice since Loki had dropped himself from the bridge. Thor had told her the truth of the matter, while Odin had simply told her that her son had fallen. She didn't know if this was to spare her the pain of her Loki committing what amounted to suicide, or what. But she had not appreciated the gesture in the least.

She raises her gaze from the water in her glass, not remembering when she had dropped her eyes in the first place. "Thank you, Hilda. It means a lot to me, to know that someone else besides myself and Thor understands our grief. That someone besides us misses him. Even if you didn't know him as personally as we did."

A little-pained smile tilts the corners of her lips up as she thinks about her youngest son with a mixture of love and sorrow. "Loki has always had a good heart. But you are correct, and he was not the easiest man to be close to. He's always been sensitive, and easy to wound emotionally. It pained me to see so many take advantage of that part of him when he was a child until he learned how to hide himself behind his intelligence, and so many emotional walls."

She shakes her head. "I've never understood why it seems no one else could see this. I understood why Thor couldn't, being a child himself. But adults should know better, shouldn't they?"

Hilda just gives a small, sorrowful smile at the question. "You would think so my Queen. But I've learned that most people are inherently selfish at their core. They don't see your little boy. They see his title, his links to the throne, and how he could be of use to them. They don't stop long enough to see a person, a child. They don't think to compare him to their children. It's terrible, but they don't see him as a person. It's the same with other royalty, as I'm sure you know, my Queen, from your personal experiences."

Frigga just nods, gathering herself and changing the subject. They could go round and round on this for hours, and there would never be a satisfactory enough answer for her. Instead, she turns her attention to the reason she was in the Healer's Halls in the first place. "The Prophecy, did you hear any of it? Did any of the Healers hear it?"

Hilda shakes her head in the negative. "No. I don't think so, unfortunately. At least, no one that I'm aware of has any information on it. As you know, Healers are very busy most times. Most of us were not at the gathering tonight."

Frigga makes a soft frustrated and disappointed noise in her throat. However, her spirits perk up a little bit when Hilda speaks further. "Whatever it was that you Spoke my Queen, has the whole court in a tizzy. I'm sure that you will hear much more about it now that you are awake." Hilda offers Frigga a sly smile. "It was enough to send Thor and Odin into fits. Last I heard, they were quite vocal with their quarreling with one each other."

Frigga arches an eyebrow in curiosity. It was very rare for Odin and Thor to be arguing, normally. These last few days there had been a considerable escalation of the act, before Thor had simply gone silent on the matter, and locked himself in his chamber, rarely emerging. "How is it you've heard this much Hilda?"

The Healer's sly smile blooms into one of conspiracy as she leans forward, Frigga instinctively leaning in to mimic her body language. Hilda's tone is a near whisper near in the shell of her ear. "A couple of chamber servants heard them shouting at one another in the sitting room, about Loki. Now I know that isn't news to you my Queen, but I think this next bit will be. Odin is gathering his arms and sending out scouts. Thor seemed to be rather insistent that he be sent out searching as well. But for what, I do not yet know. There was mention of Heimdall the Watcher, but the servants weren't certain in what context it was in. I would assume that Odin wishes him to be searching with his far-seeing gaze."

Frigga leans back with a frown on her lips. This did not bode well. Odin did not gather his forces lightly, not for a very long time. It worried her that peacetime in Asgard might be over. Though it would appear that Hilda had not come to this conclusion as yet. The girl likely thought it was some sort of exciting mischief to fuel the gossip mill.

And why should she assume otherwise? Frigga thought to herself as she mulled over the little tidbit of information. Hilda's very young still. She was born and raised in a time of peace. The worry of war would not be her first thought on such a matter. Frost Giants in the palace is likely the most frightening thing to happen in her lifetime thus far.

She reached over and set the cup down on the small table beside the bed. The water contained within only half drunk. "Thank you, Hilda, believe it or not, that little bit was very helpful. I know I will remember the Prophecy I Spoke when some time has passed, as I always do, but if what you heard is accurate I need to be going and see to this matter sooner rather than later."

Frigga reached out to take the young woman's hands, squeezing them firmly and smiling. "I appreciate everything, my dear. Hopefully, we can speak again sometimes, when I'm not one of your patients."

The young Healer blushed in pleasure, giving her Queen a radiate smile in return. "Of course my Queen. Whenever you like, and the Master Healers let me escape my duties. I would enjoy that, very much."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clint Barton was having a very, very fucked up day. It was epically fucked up. Off the charts fucked up. Completely fucked up beyond his comprehension of reality. He had nothing to else on the same level to compare it to kind of fucked up. There weren't enough descriptions of 'fuck' in the dictionary to adequately explain it. It was utterly in a league of its own. Budapest was a bloody cakewalk, though he'd never tell Widow that. Fuck wasn't a strong enough word for it.

And there wasn't a damned thing Clint seemed to be able to do about it.

It had started as a typical boring shift watching Erik Selvig tinker around with the super secret Tesseract. He'd been there as added security and observation, a job that was frankly, dull enough to bore Clint to pieces, and then BAM! The Tesseract, after ages of not doing much of anything as far as Clint could tell, but he was no scientist, decided now would be a grand ole time to do something a bit quirky. Unforeseen portal to the nexus of the abyss opening up in the middle of the room and spitting out ultra bad news in the shape of tall, pale, blue-eyed crazy Asgardian? Naturally, that's what resulted. Of course, it was. Because he never got the routine assignments.

Within a few very short rather blurry minutes Clint was two people sharing the same skin, only he wasn't the one in control any longer. This other version of himself was. The one that was all chummy and best buddies with the psycho alien from hell who went by the name of Loki. Now he was watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. base behind him collapse into a gigantic pit from the driver's side mirror of said alien's getaway car. Which he was driving. Of course, he was. Because his day couldn't get any more fucked up, could it?

It was like a twisted version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', starring himself as one of the leads.

It would have been funny on the TV screen. He always did like those sorts of movies. Though, Clint didn't think he would be watching any more of those for the rest of his life.

However long that would be.

In fact, he'd come to the horrifying conclusion during his new found experience that the brilliant writers of, what was formally fiction, were messed up dicks who needed to have their heads examined because this shit was not entertaining. It was a nightmare.

He was also pretty sure aiding and abetting would get him sniped once the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught up to what was going down. The tesseract, the most powerful object currently on Earth was stolen, he'd shot Fury, and kidnapped the lead scientist on the secret project. So many were dead because of his and Loki's actions today. He didn't know how to process that reality just yet. Clint didn't think he'd reconcile any of this anywhere in the near future.

This body snatching thing seemed sort of permanent.

It bothered him less than he thought that it should, considering he'd known many of the people in the building on friendly terms. But he found himself caring about any of that less and less the further he drove himself and his new friends away from the now gaping hole that had once been a S.H.I.E.L.D. compound. Where once he had been mentally flailing around, frantically searching for any escape from the warped prison his brain had become. Clint was now finding such expansion of energy tiring and useless, less important in the grand scheme of things. His thoughts were turning wispy and difficult to hold on to. His skull felt crowded, and suddenly he couldn't recall why. There was an ache behind his eyes that wouldn't relent.

But none of these things are relevant, are they? Minor issues, needing to be dismissed. He'd worked under worse conditions than a sinus headache.

There were more important things to think about. Like how to keep Loki safe from pursuit, what their next step in the game plan was. Where they could hole up if need be. Loki looked like he could use some rest, though he truthfully did not think they had the time for it. Clint also doubted that Loki would want to slow down long enough to do so in the first place, regardless of how exhausted the man looked to be. These were the sorts of issues that were a much larger concern than the pile of rubble that was no longer in his rearview mirror. It wouldn't be long before S.H.I.E.L.D. found their feet again and came after them. Loki had been able to shock and overwhelm them with his grand unexpected entrance. Chances were, they wouldn't continue to be so lucky in their future maneuvers. S.H.I.E.L.D. had other potential weapons in their arsenal. Less conventional ones. It was only a matter of time.

They were going to change the world, after all, he and Loki, and his head was just full of helpful information to ease them on their way to a new world order.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A sharply dressed man in a tailored suit stared expressionlessly at the matte black phone in his hand with intensity. He ignored the other people bustling around him. Some frantic, some striding purposefully about their duties. He was aware of their movements, but he mentally dismissed them as ultimately unimportant in the short term. He had his assignments that he should start hustling on, but he was stalling. He knew he was, but for just a few minutes, he honestly did not care. This was one such task that he did not relish with any fiber of his being. He could admit, in the privacy of his mind, that he was significantly concerned about what was going to transpire after the next few minutes. His eyes narrowed on the object within his grasp with displeasure, then he sighed and flipped it open with resignation.

Coulson was not looking forward to making this phone call.

They needed the intelligence that Natasha was gathering on her latest undercover mission, but this information he had was more critical, both on a professional and personal level for the agent. Natasha would never forgive him if he kept Clint's status from her. Still, he was reluctant to be the one to inform her of the recent goings on. He was somewhat uncertain how the woman would react to the news. Would she go off the rails and try to hunt down Clint and Loki herself? Or would she play ball with S.H.I.E.L.D. and work with them to track the missing man down that way?

He wasn't sure, truthfully, no matter what Director Fury said. The Widow was always a little bit of a question mark. She was at her most dangerous when you thought you had her pegged. It was her profession, after all, to fool those around her into complacency. This was not a typical situation, and Phil had no solid idea of how Natasha would respond to the unpleasant information he had to give to her. Worse still, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no way of knowing what exactly had happened to Clint. They had a few guesses, but they were just that, unproven assumptions, and until something could be proven one way or another, Clint was now an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D. and would be treated as such. None of which, Widow was going to be the least bit okay with.

Coulson was half-way convinced she was in love with the man that had saved her life those years ago, regardless of whether Clint himself was aware of it or not. In fact, Natasha for some strange reason seemed to prefer that he did not know. Perhaps it was for the better in the long run. He was a married man after all, with little ones of his own. Laura Barton was a good woman and loved Clint with all her heart. Natasha herself seemed fond of Clint's wife, which baffled Coulson considering her feelings for her sometimes partner. In any case, it wasn't his business until it affected operations. Which it had the potential to do now, of all times.

However, Director Fury had made it clear to everyone that the Loki threat took precedence over every other op they had in the works. Loki was a planet-wide threat on a level they hadn't had to deal with since that incident with Thor in Mexico. The amount of damage caused in just a few short hours, over what amounted to a petty squabble between siblings over the inheritance of a throne was appalling. Nevermind the work they had to do to keep most of it out of the media and the work he'd had to do with the townspeople. Just thinking of it gave him a memory headache. He didn't sleep properly the entire time he was down there cleaning up that near catastrophe. The only good thing that had come out of that was the friendly alliance with Thor, and through him, supposedly Asgard.

But Coulson, personally, was skeptical on that front.

Asgard didn't seem like it involved itself with anything that wasn't in their self-interests, from his observations. Regardless of what Thor kept reassuring them before he'd returned home. Hence, the sudden resurgence of interest in projects involving the Tesseract. The object which seems to have somehow summoned or transported a wrathful and bloodthirsty Loki onto Earth. Which brought Coulson back to the task at hand. His reluctance to call the woman wasn't even a blip on Fury's radar at this point.

Besides, they needed her to help wrangle the big green guy in India, a job Coulson did not envy her in the least. But he knew she could keep her cool around the unassuming scientist, where others would be too trigger happy. The big green guy seemed to have a soft spot for pretty women, and Natasha was most definitely that. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep both personalities calm and avoid another incident like what had happened in Harlem. The last thing they needed was the Hulk rampaging all over and making waves in the news. Things were complicated enough without that adding to an already long list of bad. With an internal grimace, Coulson pressed the speed dial button for Natasha on his phone and put it to his ear.

The Black Widow was going to be on the warpath.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

While Coulson is busy with his unpleasant phone business, the miraculously still alive Director Fury was engaged in conversation with a certain grumpy Super Soldier. Fury had a lot of respect for the man that had been frozen in ice for the last seventy years and could sympathize with the disorientation and anger carried by him. The man had been through quite a bit in his original timeline with World War Two going on, and his personal losses because of that war. However, Director Fury could not let such feelings influence how he used such a strong asset, especially when S.H.I.E.L.D. needed him so badly at the moment. Earth and S.H.I.E.L.D. were not equipped to battle creatures of Loki's ilk. Only beings like Steve Rogers could meet and hope to match such overwhelming odds with any hope of a winning outcome. Fury would do what he needed to do to recruit Captain America, though subtle manipulation would likely work best, regardless of his personal distaste for using it on an American National Treasure.

Desperate times and such, as the old saying went.

Fury found the young man in a simple gym by himself, beating a punching bag with all the rage he was locking up inside his head. For just a minute, Fury paused to watch the man work the bag, appreciating the form and power of the being in front of him. It always both amazed and horrified him what science could, and would, in some cases, bring into the world in the name of progress. Rogers was a definite win in that regard, but there had been so many monstrosities created after him. In the mad rush of scientists trying to recreate the formula and produce the strongest army in the world, all sorts of horrors had been born. Luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D. made it a point to squash the whole mess and thus far, seemed to have succeeded for the most part.

Rogers was vicious with the bag, enough so that he broke the one he had been currently working over with his pent up aggression. Whether is was nightmares, insomnia, vertigo from being 70 years out of time or just plain pissiness driving the man, the Director did not particularly care at that moment. There were bigger problems out there that needed his, and the Captain's undivided focus and attention. Fury had a feeling the young man would feel better if the Soldier was pointed in the direction of a good fight anyhow. It would get Roger's mind off of his current situation at the very least.

However, Fury did have to be careful of the steps he made in conversation with Rogers. While he was a national hero, Steve Rogers was also smarter than he looked, pigheaded, and prone to doing what he thought was right, rather than following orders to the letter. Such a nature was both a blessing and a curse in the Director's opinion. A soldier who could think on their feet and outside the box was an extremely valuable asset in some instances and a terrible hindrance in others. The trick was on knowing and anticipating such things. Fury considered himself very good at this.

In the end, it was a simple matter of dropping a few verbal hooks out for Steve, a few bites of information, leaving him the file in a place he couldn't ignore it, and mentally reminding himself not to demand or crowd him. Rogers would likely let his curiosity get the better of himself. He would browse the file as soon as the Director was out of his range of senses. Roger's sense of duty and morality were easy enough to use against him.

It wasn't difficult to get the Super Soldier on board if one knew how to work him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony is enjoying some celebratory wine with Pepper when his evening plans are rudely interrupted. The Stark Tower was now officially up and running purely on the Arc tech that he'd invented and patented. Tony was confident that after showing the world what his new energy source could do, requests for would be rolling in from all over. It wouldn't be a swift process of course. Tony doubted he would get any contracts this year, but perhaps in the next, he would be offered some. If not, he would find a way to make the technology more widespread. After all his other tech was already everywhere as it was, he was sure he could think of something if he needed to.

Truth be told, Tony was more curious than irritated about why Coulson came to see him than he wanted to let the man know about. Dinner and sex with Pepper he could have pretty much any time their mutually busy schedules allowed. Callous as the thought was, he didn't exactly let himself feel bad about it. He was slowly steeling his heart against the pain that would come later, both for himself and her. Tony had made his decision concerning her and Harry, and he wasn't going back on it. Even though he was certain, it meant losing Pepper from his life forever. If Tony didn't let himself think too hard about it, it was nice to spend time with her, because he did still care very much about the woman, even if most of him was simply waiting for Harry to get back. Tony was already more than half checked out of anything involving her. It was becoming a struggle some days to carry on as he had been before. It was draining.

So when Agent Phil Coulson waltzed his way past security into Tony's brand new tower, he immediately noticed the file in the man's hands with interest. The file Coulson carried with him to look over was just an intellectual bonus candy on an already pleasant evening in Tony's opinion. After a few minutes of back and forth banter with the S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, Pepper handed him the information, effectively ending his fun with a warning look. Mentally shrugging he took the file handed to him from Pepper and turned away to dig into this new little tidbit. Coulson always had the good stuff. He blew up the digital files on the holoscreen and for a few heartbeats, just stared. There was a wealth of forbidden information at his fingertips.

A lot of this Tony already knew from Jarvis constantly hacking and monitoring S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems, but hell if he was going to say anything about that to the man. Some of this wasn't in the S.H.I.E.L.D. servers. Which meant that it was squirreled away somewhere else. Tony made a mental note to figure out where as soon as possible. He hated the thought of S.H.I.E.L.D. being able to blindside them later if things went pear-shaped where Harry was concerned.

Something hugely colossal must be going down for S.H.I.E.L.D. to willingly share all of this with Tony Stark of all people. They did not trust him as far as they could throw him. Which if he was wearing one of his suits definitely wasn't very far at all. He hardly noticed when Pepper finally took her leave with 'Phil'. Oh, Tony noticed the delicious dirty whispering in his ear certainly, but once she was out of sight, Pepper pretty much faded out of his mind. She was going to D.C. for a while, which meant that Tony was free to play without much restriction, and Agent Phil Coulson had just brought him a shiny new toy.

Tony could care less about Steve Rogers, though Bruce Banner got his full attention for a few minutes, as did the Tesseract. Both were something he would look further into after he had studied the information already in front of him. Tony was very curious about his scientific work. He recognized Natasha's file and was already familiar with a lot of it. Tony had made a point of learning everything he could about the woman after she had infiltrated his business. Tony did not like spies. He already had enough issues in the past with trusting people, knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. might have spies keeping an eye on him just made him even less trusting, and less willing to let anyone new close to him. He also recognized Clint Barton from his stalking of Harry. It was unfortunate for S.H.I.E.L.D. that Barton was now a meat-puppet for the villain-du-jour of the day. Frankly, Tony didn't think it could happen to a better guy. Tony only spared a thought for the man in relation to how much damage he could cause and ways to neutralize his dangerous bow skills. But what captured and held Tony's attention, was Loki.

This Loki, along with Thor, were apparently aliens from a place called Asgard, and both supposedly honest to goodness Norse Gods. Tony still wasn't sure how he felt about that idea. He knew that Harry had mentioned Gods before, but he found the idea difficult to wrap his brain around still. Tony watched the video clips again and again, fascinated. Harry wasn't the only alien out there. Logically Tony knew this of course. If Harry was possible, then why not other races? Though honestly, Tony had never given space much thought at all throughout his life. The universe was a huge place, so it made sense for there to be other races out there somewhere among the stars. However, knowing in your head and having it stare you in the face were two very different things. Though it was more than obvious that this particular alien, did most certainly not come in peace. Tony never did like others playing in his sandbox.

Well then, it looked like Ironman was suiting up and playing misfit hero with the rest of the spandex club. Go Avengers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Asgardian Prince looked out over the kneeling crowd of terrified humans and felt a dark smile crawl up his face. Midgardians were so utterly pathetic. They cringed away from him, eyes wide with horror and fear. It was so thick that it was nearly palatable. Most of them didn't bother to put up a fight against him, instead they scurried about in a panic like bugs. Barton had been one of the very few that had tried resistance, but of course, he was weaker than Loki and had predictably fallen with only minor effort on his part. The man was useful, though, as was Selvig. For the moment. However, Loki was growing bored very quickly. He was growing irritated. There should have been more than this. These little bugs were ultimately unsatisfying. A passing amusement that had no long term fulfillment. Surely there was at least a mediocre challenge somewhere on this pitiful realm. Loki's eyes narrowed as he gazed down at the trembling mass before his boot clad feet, thoughts swirling.

Where were the fighters on this planet?

Where were the vast armies?

The brainless storybook heroes?

It was suspiciously quiet so far. Barton had assured him that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be on their tracks in short order, but so far, Loki had not seen anything to warrant caution in Stuttgart. There was nothing here but mindless, spineless insects.

So why not have some fun with them?

Summoning his illusion skills barely took a thought on Loki's part, and the Midgardians herded themselves away from the images like startled sheep each time one appeared around them. He started his speech, barely paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth at this point. It was all so much blathering anyhow. He was just wasting time until Barton was finished with the vault and making his get-away. Keeping the attention focused on himself, so that the theft wouldn't be noticed right away. Distraction and misdirection were something Loki did very well.

Loki wasn't surprised when someone finally spoke out against him. It was only a matter of time before one of the sheep found a bit of courage, though he was amused it was a rather impertinent elderly man instead of a younger warrior. As if Loki cared one whit about any Midgardian fool of a tyrant that had attempted to rule before him. He was about the strike the foolish one down with the scepter given to him by Thanos, Master of the Chitauri, when Loki suddenly found himself knocked on his face on the pavement under his feet. Raising his head slightly, he easily spotted the oddly dressed Midgardian that had struck him down by rebounding the scepter blast with the shield in his hand.

Rage flashed through the fallen prince briefly before humor washed it away. Finally, here was one of the heroes mentioned by Barton that might hold a challenge to his rule. Loki grinned mentally before picking himself up from the ground to properly face his opponent. A soft chuckle left his lips as he heard and immediately dismissed the Captain's little speech. He had little care for anything he had to say that wouldn't help Loki achieve his task here on Midgard. The rest of it was just so much noise as far as he was concerned.

Ah, the predictability of self-righteous warriors everywhere. You are late, Midgardian.

He kept his thoughts to himself, however, and promptly forgot about the worthless Midgardian sheep around him. Here before him was someone that might give Loki a bit of a challenge, finally. This Steve Rogers, the Super Soldier, titled Captain America. Barton had been very informative about this man, and a few others, all potentials for Director Fury's pet project, the Avengers initiative. They were the main force that Loki needed to be concerned with getting in the way of his plans here on Midgard.

Let the games begin then.

Loki ignored the imperious demands of the woman manning the jet above them and Loki fired a shot from the staff in her direction as an answer. As if he was going to give himself up so easy simply because she said so. Predictably, she neatly maneuvered the fighter jet out of the way of his blast, but Loki was only trying to keep her distracted while he dealt with the Soldier anyhow.

As he always did, Loki flung about distracting banter, hardly paying attention to his words, but the Captain wasn't bothered by his taunting, and so Loki kept it brief. It was quickly apparent that this one would not be so easily riled as his brother by verbal barbs, and thusly his sharp words were a waste of his energy. So Loki turned his attention elsewhere. The Soldier was physically strong and seemed to be able to keep his feet, for the most part, Loki would give him that, quick and more agile than he was expecting the Midgardian to be. For a moment Loki managed to get the Captain down on his knees before him, and it sent a tingling rush through his blood, but the instant didn't last more than a few heartbeats before the Midgardian fought his way back to his feet.

The fighter jet moved back into place with the intent of firing on him, capturing his attention briefly, distracting Loki from progressing much further with the man out of time. Before he could take any action against the jet or the Captain, odd music began filling the air around them. Both of them looked up into the sky with confusion.

At first, there only appeared to be a strange fireball streaking across the sky. Then Loki realized the fireball was coming right towards them. Before he could determine an appropriate response, Loki was again blown off of his feet and thrown into the cold hard pavement once again, knocking the breath out of him. Looking up Loki was met with the sight of a metal man in bright scarlet and gold.

The Ironman had arrived.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The tension inside of the jet while they were traveling was stifling. Stark did not speak much to the Captain except in clipped borderline hostile tones, and only then to needle at the other man. The Captain was obviously uncertain where this aggressiveness from Stark was coming from, but he certainly didn't let Howard's son verbally walk all over him. It peaked Loki's interest mildly to watch the two of them, supposed allies, at odds and barely tolerant of being in the same space as their counterpart. Loki kept his silence, simply listening and watching the two go back and forth with each other without interruption. This just made his job much easier in the long run. Allies like this were easier to fracture with just a little pressure in the correct juncture. The Avengers seemed unlikely to get along for a long enough duration to properly oppose him if this was how they communicated with one another. Still, they needed to be dealt with, better to attend to them now instead of later when they may balance themselves out and become a real nuisance.

However, this banter between Stark and the Captain was not what truly captured the Prince's attention.

No, a far far more impressive specimen to observe was Tony Stark himself. He was so much more than what Loki was expecting from a Midgardian, no matter how intelligent. Stark broke a universal, inherent truth in the very soil of Midgard for millennia before Loki's birth. Barton, it would seem, had been lax in his information concerning Stark, or perhaps the man simply did not know to tell Loki in the first place. That was the more likely scenario. The Midgardian was an archer, a warrior.

The acclaimed man of technology had magic about him.

Barton would be blind, deaf and dumb to the presence of magic until it was thrown in his face with bright flashing flamboyance. The subtly of this magic was beyond the human's senses. It was likely beyond most Asgardians as well, ignorant as many of them chose to be. He would never have known Stark had anything to do with magic. It would appear S.H.I.E.L.D. did not either.

Did Stark himself even know? Surely he must.

He dripped in it. He stank of it. It teased Loki's senses with each inhale. It caressed over his skin. He'd have to be unconscious not to know it was there, and that Stark was the source of it. It was all over him, every inch from the top of his head to his toes, and for the life of him, Loki was uncertain how this could be. It wasn't the suit, which had been his first assumption, and it did not seem to be the man himself. In fact, the longer that Loki watched, the more certain he became that Stark appears to be completely oblivious to its presence. It wove and shifted around often, and he took no notice of it. While Loki could not see it, he could sense it easily when it did. It was strong and had a unique flavor he had never encountered before. Stark was wrapped in magic.

Whatever this magic was, it was powerful, and seemingly not his work.

How… interesting.

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Thor stared out of one of the many windows of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, ignoring the soft voices of the people in the background. They didn't need him for anything right now. Heavy blonde eyebrows furrowed together, frowning at his reflection held within the glass. He was brooding. Thor knew he was, but he couldn't help it. Loki was here in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, not more than a few hundred feet away at most, but Thor had never felt further away from the man that he'd grown up with as his younger brother.

In a very short span of time, Thor's world has repeatedly turned upside down, and he found that he was struggling. His brother's betrayal of their father Thor still couldn't understand. Though he did understand that Loki felt as though he were lesser than his older brother in the eyes of their father and their people for a long time. Thor didn't agree with his brother's actions, but he could admit that he'd been a very blind and self-centered man at the time, before his exile to Midgard and meeting Jane. Thor had never seen his brother's pain. Somehow, over the years, he had completely missed it. This Thor couldn't forgive himself for.

The revelation of Loki's adoption was a shock, but ultimately made no difference in Thor's feelings about his brother. Loki however, felt very differently about the information, and Thor could not deny that his sibling was entitled to be angry about the secrets and lies over the years. Thor himself had a mixed reaction to the idea. On the one hand, he was angry on Loki's behalf, but he understood that his parents did not want to expose such a young child to the prejudices war with the Frost Giants had bred within the Asgardian population. Unfortunately, their goal, in the end, failed spectacularly. Thor and Loki grew up amid them anyway. Thor could only imagine the depths of Loki's horror at finding such hatred was indirectly aimed at him. The truth of his bloodline.

Loki's death had struck Thor deepest of all. With Loki gone, so was his chance at understanding where things had gone wrong between them. Between Loki and their father. There would be no reconciliation, no mending of bridges, no forgiveness. The companion that had been by his side for as long as Thor could remember was no more. There would be no more ticks, no more challenges, no more puzzles from his brother. Thor more than once found himself searching a room for his sibling only to realize what he was subconsciously doing. Then it would hit him all over again like a punch to the solar plexus, stealing the breath from his lungs and squeezing his heart until it nearly ceased to beat as he remembered the vile, agonizing truth.

Loki was gone, by his own hand and it was partly Thor's fault.

His mother's Prophecy had renewed Thor's hope. The idea that his beloved sibling was alive, just lost somewhere out in the many Realms, ignited a fire within him that he refused to bank, regardless of his father's misgivings. Thor's only concern at first was to find Loki and bring him home, where things could be sorted out. He foolishly dismissed his father's warnings about the words of the Prophecy. He'd never really believed in them anyway. He still couldn't accept, even in the face of Loki's former actions, the possibility that his brother would stand on the opposite side of a battle line from him. Refused to see or accept his mother's hesitation and uncertainty.

Then Heimdall had brought news that Thor could not ignore. Loki was attacking Thor's beloved Earth. The place Jane and his human friends lived. The Realm Thor had taken under his protection. Vainly Thor sought a reason to justify his brother's actions and could find none. Anger filled his heart. He couldn't understand why Loki would do this. Thor was not on Earth. He could not dismiss this attack like he could the one before. This wasn't against him because he'd done something to wrong his brother. Loki was simply hurting people, for his own reasons, of which Thor was no longer privy to. It made him wonder if he ever truly had been before. In light of events in recent years, Thor doubted it. The anger eclipsed his hurt and confusion. Anger was something Thor was familiar with; it was an emotion he well understood. It was one he could focus and direct into action and accomplishment.

So Thor went to Earth with anger in his heart to bring his wayward brother home to Asgard.

There he encountered Tony Stark, the Man of Iron, and Captain America, another warrior of strength and honor. Thor was single-minded in his anger and pursuit of Loki. Not willing to let anyone on Earth punish or imprison his sibling. Thor was focused on capturing his brother and returning with him. So long as he kept to that goal, Thor thought the rest would sort itself out when they returned to Asgard. It had to.

The notion was willfully naive.

Of course, the humans of S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't so easily part with his brother. Not after the crimes he had committed. The extensive damage he'd caused. Loki himself was a shock to Thor's system. The man was utterly unrepentant about his actions. He seemed to find the whole thing an amusing game. He was dismissive, callous, outright mocking and cruel. Thor had never been on the sharp side of his brother's tongue. Not like this. Not as an enemy. It was devastating.

Thor didn't know what to do. So he did nothing, for now.

He let S.H.I.E.L.D. take their own steps with Loki to find the Tesseract. Thor couldn't stomach speaking to his sibling at the moment. He was at a loss of what to say even if he could. He didn't know where to start, or how to get past the wall of rage and hatred built up and exuding from the man who was his brother, but refused to recognize any kinship to Thor now. Any conversation Thor tried to have with Loki now would be painful, ugly, rife with shouting, insults and more he was certain. It was not something he wanted the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. to witness. Thor felt it was too private, and Loki had always been reserved. He would never reveal weakness, or give Thor honesty with these strangers watching their every move. All the more reason to bring Loki home before this could spiral any further out of control.

However, Thor could not leave the Tesseract in the hands of Midgardians who did not understand the power they were attempting to wield, regardless of their intentions, good or ill. So he must remain until the cube was found, and only then, could Thor bring the weapon and his brother home. Thor still tried to cling to the notion that if he could just get Loki back to Asgard, something could be done. Each hour that passed, he found that hope more and more difficult to hold on to.

After all, what would he do if Loki, in his hurt and anger, simply refused any help or reconciliation? What then? Thor didn't know. He had no answers to this, and it heavily burdened his heart.

Thor was unsure of how long he had been staring out the window brooding on the situation with his wayward brother when he found himself suddenly aware of another presence leaning against the wall beside him. Shifting his blue-grey eyes, Thor found Phil Coulson to be the one sharing his quiet window space. The Midgardian was wearing his normal suit but had his arms loosely crossed over his chest. Something that Thor knew he did not often do unless stressed. Though, with everything going on, Thor wasn't surprised. He watched Coulson for a moment, before turning his head to acknowledge the other man's patient presence.

Coulson offered a brief barely there smile in return that never quite reached his hazel colored eyes. His tone was cautious and pensive, catching Thor's attention for a second before Coulson's words distract him from a half-formed thought. "I apologize if now is not a good time Thor, but you mentioned that you wished to speak with me privately when I had a few minutes?"

Thor blinks, pulling his mind from the confusing fog that is his brother's issues. Softly he cleared his throat, but kept his voice low, so his words could only be heard by the two of them. "Yes. It was something I meant to inquire about when I was on Earth before, but the moment was never really appropriate for the conversation." Thor pauses, his gaze flicking towards the bustle of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel behind them. "I'm uncertain if now is the appropriate place for such a...personal...discussion."

Coulson followed Thor's glance and slowly nods with a little frown gathering at the corners of his mouth. "The Command Bridge is certainly not a place inclined towards discretion. Especially with Stark having been in here not long ago. If you would like to follow me?"

Coulson straightens up and smoothly moves towards the door, aware of Thor falling into step just to the side and one step behind him as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent led them from the Command Bridge and through a few busy corridors before turning down one that was empty. Glancing only briefly over his shoulder to be sure no one else was in the hall, Coulson opens the door to his left and motions Thor into the sitting room. Coulson was confident that they would not be observed or overheard here. This was a room he personally used when he need a few minutes break without eyes constantly watching him. Being under constant camera and personnel surveillance could be stressful at times, so Coulson had set this out of the way sitting room up as a blank spot in the system. It wouldn't last, of course, it would eventually be found, but he was confident in it for now.

Locking the door behind them, Coulson walked over to one of the armchairs and sat down, leaving the much bigger Asgardian to the loveseat across from him. Thor gingerly seated himself, still wary of breaking furniture if he simply flopped his considerable weight down. Once seated; however, he relaxed, confident the loveseat wasn't going to dump his ass onto the floor. He raised his eyes and realized that Coulson was watching his movements with open amusement. Thor grins self-consciousness and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Jane's furniture is so delicate," he muttered in the way of an explanation.

Coulson arches an eyebrow at the flustered and faintly blushing Asgardian Prince, but does not comment. Instead, he leans forward a bit, turning his attention to the previously mentioned discussion. "We are able to speak freely in here. It's a dark room."

Thor frowned at the term, but mentally brushed it aside. He trusted Coulson, so his curiosity was irrelevant at the moment. "I am uncertain of how to ask this question politely, friend Coulson. So I will simply be blunt and hope you forgive me my forwardness." Thor furrowed his brow as he spoke, carefully picking his words.

"Last time I was here on Earth, when I lost the use of Mjolnir, I noticed something...odd. At the time, I dismissed it as my confused senses. Being mortal was a very difficult and frustrating experience, and so I ignored the strangeness about your personal aura. But this time, here and now, I am fully in my power, and this oddness still persists. It sets you apart from others around you. This energy around you is both familiar and not, a quandary I have yet to resolve in my own mind. I have thought about it much in the little time I have been back, and I can only come to one conclusion." Thor raises his gaze from the coffee table and firmly meets Coulson's wary ones. Mentally taking note of the tension in his friend's body. "I am certain now, that you are not human. You are not born of Midgard."

For several long moments, there is only silence. Something unseen charges the air with thrumming hostility that makes Thor's skin itch. An unspoken threat hanging in the air that takes Thor off guard and leaves the Asgardian wondering if he'd had made a mistake in believing this man to be an ally. Coulson holds his gaze without blinking during this time, before slowly leaning back in his seat. The tension doesn't leave his frame, though the muscles around his eyes and mouth tighten. His voice, when it comes, is emotionless steel.

"And what is it, exactly, you intend to do with this information, Prince of Asgard?"

END PART I 


	17. When the Smoke Clears

**Chapter 17** **\- When the Smoke Clears**

 **Warnings:** _Avengers Movie recap Part II, Multiple POV's - Please pay attention. Again, some parts are exactly like the movie, others I have changed for my own story. Character Death, Canon-verse violence, mentions of depression and PTSD, Pepper's bitchy self, mentions of abortion, snark, angst._ _  
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_ **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In another part of the Helicarrier, Bruce and Tony are busy trying to track down any signature from the Tesseract. A lively conversation between the two had for the moment, melted away to cohesive silence as they moved around one another in comfortable synchronization.

Tony privately found himself marveling at this. Never before had anyone, other than Harry, been able to move so freely and smoothly in Tony's workspace. There was no friction, no getting into one another's way. They each seemed to instinctively know what the other person was working on, what the next step should be, or how to help the other man without upsetting what was already being done. It was different than how it had been with Harry since the Valkyrie wasn't an engineer or a scientist in Bruce's field, but it was familiar enough to invoke pleasant, happy memories for Tony.

Tony didn't feel crowded or pressured to constantly keep up some form of conversation. He felt free to speak his mind if something popped into it without having to figure out a way to rephrase it for someone else to understand. Bruce spoke Tony's language. He could relax and lose himself in what he was doing without disturbance from Bruce. He was aware of the other scientist, of course, the movements and occasional mumbles under his breath. But Tony wasn't as bothered by it as he would normally have been if, say, Pepper or Rhodey were in the room with him while he was working on one of his projects. Both of them, despite the affection Tony felt in his heart, ground on his nerves until he couldn't tolerate them in his workspace any longer and he found himself purposely trying to annoy them out of his lab or garage.

This was not the case with Bruce Banner, and the notion made Tony smile. It was nice, sharing space like this. He sort of missed it. It made him excited to show Brucie all his little toys and side projects, just to see what that brilliant brain of his would make out of any of it. Now was not the time, however. Such pleasing musings would have to wait until after the Loki disaster was dealt with. Then Tony would happily extend an invitation to Banner to come and visit Tony's own personal Stark Industries Candyland.

It would take work and patience, of course, Bruce seemed liked the skittish sort. Knowing what he did about Banner's past, Tony could understand why the other man was so cautious. Still, Tony felt that the effort would be worth it in the end, assuming everyone was still alive after this mess with Loki. For the moment, the mad Asgardian would have to have most of Tony's attention.

Just now, Tony was looking over some files that were sent to his tablet from Jarvis. The AI had long been in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers, but there was always something new to be found. It was a spy organization. There were secrets in corners everywhere, and Jarvis had apparently accidentally stumbled upon something he thought Tony would find interesting.

Glancing up, Tony's gaze found Bruce completely wrapped up in his work across the room. His own nose stuck in a computer monitor as he tracked and adjusted the parameters of the searching wavelength as needed. Reassured that he had a little bit of time to view what Jarvis had flagged as important, Tony tapped on his tablet, opening the file.

Tony squints at the video images Jarvis was sending to him. It looked like a simple sitting room on the Helicarrier they were currently on board. There was only a coffee table and a few places to sit, but that wasn't what made him frown at the screen in his hands. Thor and Coulson were the only two occupants in the room. Briefly, he wondered why Jarvis had chosen to show this to him but brushed the thought away. Jarvis didn't send him things unless the AI thought it could be important, or Tony had specifically asked for it. There was no sound accompanying the video, and so Tony was unaware of what exactly the room's two occupants were speaking of. Jarvis was attempting to read their lips, but the angles were poor for any accuracy. There was only one small camera in the room, and Jarvis had already discreetly informed him through text that someone had gone before the AI system and already tampered with the surveillance set-up in this particular room. It was essentially a blank spot in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vision. Invisible.

Jarvis informed him that there was a very subtle program consistently trying to boot the AI out of the monitor. It kept trying to play blank feed on a loop. Which brought Tony to only one conclusion. Someone definitely didn't want S.H.I.E.L.D. to know what was going on in this room. The only person that Tony could immediately think of off the top of his head was Harry. Though it was possible the room existed for other reasons. Spies were slippery creatures after all. It made pinning any solid information down a rather dodgy effort at the best of times. Silently, Tony told Jarvis to keep monitoring the meeting. While he didn't know what was going on right that moment, Tony was determined to find out more when he had the opportunity.

Humming softly to himself under his breath, Tony made a snap decision and bought the tablet over to where Bruce was still working. With a few taps of his finger, the video file was reloaded for viewing a second time.

"Hey, Bruce."

"Mhmm…?" The Doctor responded absently, not bothering to lift his head from whatever it was he was currently looking at. Grinning a bit, Tony reached out to poke Bruce in the ribs, watching the other man instinctively flinched away from the touch. Bruce's ruffled head jerked up, eyes blinking at him inquisitively.

"I want you to look at this and tell me what you think," Tony stated calmly once he had the other man's attention. Bruce nodded without saying anything. Tony inched over to his side and tilted the tablet towards him so he could see, then pressed play once again.

Bruce furrowed his brow when he spotted the two occupants in the meeting. "There's no sound?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope. Technically, the camera is disabled. Invisible to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance systems. It's a dark room."

Bruce lifted his head for a moment, a little half smile curling one corner of his mouth. "And of course you have access to it even though S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't."

Tony just grinned back in response to the shy smile. Bruce really was kinda cute. Too bad Tony was already spoken for.

"Of course. I've been rooting around in their servers since I got on board."

Tony might like Bruce so far, but he wasn't going to trust him with the fact Jarvis had been deep in their coding for years already.

"So," Tony nearly bounced on his heels as he pushed the tablet under Bruce's nose again. Causing the Doctor to snort softly in open amusement at the billionaire's childish antics. "What do you suppose the super secret squirrel club meeting is about?"

Bruce lifted one shoulder in a half-assed shrug, eyes dropping back to the still playing video. "Well, their body language is rather tense, and considering the people in the room, I would hazard a guess that they are discussing Loki. Difficult to know for certain, however, without any sound, and not being able to read Coulson's lips."

Tony paused in his bouncing. "Well yes, that would be my first guess as well. But _what_ are they discussing about Loki that needs to be hidden from S.H.I.E.L.D., in a _dark room_? With _Coulson at that_." Tony stressed in quiet seriousness.

Again Bruce looked up and met Tony's intense blue gaze. "You know…" He started slowly, mind turning over the various possibilities and probabilities with rapid speed. "That is actually...a _very_ interesting question."

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Loki watched the red-headed female glide away from the glass cage in which S.H.I.E.L.D. was keeping him. Her movements were graceful and spoke of a woman very much in control of her own body. It spoke much of her as a warrior, physically, at least. She knew what she was doing in a fight. Loki had been forewarned of her talents beforehand by Barton. Still, he had dismissed her as an actual threat out of hand by virtue, of her gender.

He should have known better. "Clever girl." He muttered under his breath in a mix of appreciation and aggravation.

Now, Loki was mentally chastising himself. He of all people, should not have underestimated her. How often had he used a feminine appearance to wile information about of a male too busy undressing him, mentally or otherwise, to pay attention to the words rolling off his tongue? How often had he avidly watched his adoptive mother, Frigga, prove her own power and intelligence in handling both her husband and a court full of prejudiced old battleaxes?

"Too many times…" He grumbled, answering his own questions, as he slowly paced his circular prison.

Frigga wove her webs about them so expertly they never knew they had been caught up in them. Frigga was the one who had recognized Loki's own talent at a very young age, both in weaving magic and weaving manipulations, and took him to her knee for teaching. Loki's mind raced, wondering why he had underestimated a woman he knew was an enemy when he'd been taught better nearly from toddlerhood. The only rational conclusion he could come up with was that the Black Widow was Midgardian, and as such, he had automatically assumed her inferiority.

He glared at where she had exited the room and wondered if his fatigue had caused a slip he couldn't correct, and what its future impact would be on his plans. The scepter was out of his immediate reach, but its destructive influence would protect it, so he wasn't overly concerned about it. It was after all, not far from his target, and had already had several hours to work on the monstrous green counterpart to Banner. It was only a matter of time before Banner's anger management issues reared their massive head. Barton and Selvig should be nearly done with setting up the equipment needed to open the portal. His time here was a distraction and nearly at an end. He need only wait.

"It doesn't matter." Loki whispered to himself in reassurance. The woman's information wasn't of long-term relevance.

Reassured that his slip of the tongue hadn't cost him anything important, Loki mentally shrugged it off, only making a note to be more aware of his exhaustion. He had no time for rest. There were too many things to be done before the arrival of the Chitauri. Plans needed to be kept moving, partly to prevent the Midgardians from mounting any significant defense of their home. Personally, he did not think they could do much in the face of Thanos' Chitauri, but he was a strategist. Minimize the possibility of resistance, destroy anything or anyone that might be capable of putting up a noteworthy fight.

So far, only the Avengers Initiative qualified. But then, Loki hadn't expected much from them in the first place.

A sudden blast rocked Loki nearly off his feet, pulling him from his internal musings as alarms began to sound. He raised his head and glanced around, watching in silence as the two guards that had stepped in to keep an eye on him after Widow left hustled out of the room. He blinked slowly, a small feral smile curling his mouth. "Well then..."

It looked like Barton and Selvig had finished early.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Coulson had a feeling when he woke up from his allotted sleep shift on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier- that it was going to be one of _those_ days.

One of the monumentally terrible ones that changed your life irrevocably. Over time, Phil had become excellent at recognizing when his instincts were attempting to warn him of impending disaster. He'd learned to listen to them as best he could. It had saved his life, and the lives of those around him countless times over the years. It was one of the major contributing factors to the private man's rapid rise within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, and also contributed to the reason Fury relied so heavily on Coulson when he vetted new agents into the spy organization. Phil had a 'nose for trouble,' as the old saying went, and could often accurately tell which direction said trouble or problem would be coming from.

So Phil knew, when he woke up in his bunk after the mad Asgardian Loki and sunk one of their bases into a giant crater that the jittery sensation in his limbs, the sourness in his stomach that made it impossible for him to even to drink his morning coffee, all indicated something godawful was going to go down today. His head ached with it, and he couldn't pin down any concrete feeling of what to expect. Those were always the worst. It meant people were going to die, and there wouldn't be a hell of a lot he could do about it. He likely wouldn't be able to anticipate it before whatever it was, happened. He'd only be able to be reactive to the events happening around him.

"Ugh." He grunted out into the empty room, summing up his feelings entirely in the one disgusted and resigned word.

Grimly, the Agent dressed in his usual crisp suit and forced down a glass of water and a nutrition bar, in spite of the unhappy turmoil of his digestive system. A reaction this grave was a major cause for concern. He needed to speak with Director Fury right away. Even if his senses, were giving him no real useful information at this point, in time. Swiftly, Phil strode down the gray-walled corridors, dodging co-workers as he went. His greetings were clipped and brief as he sought out his intended target.

Unfortunately, when Phil located Maria Hill, he was doomed to be disappointed.

"Agent Hill," Phil called out calmly, causing the attractive brunette to turn from her current task towards him. She raised a delicately curved eyebrow, expression serious. Only her bright eyes gave away her friendliness towards the other agent.

"Agent Coulson." She greeted without any emotional inflection. "What can I do for you?"

"Would you happen to know where Director Fury might be found at this time?"

"He's in a meeting with our charming Council members, last I was aware, Agent." She replied coolly.

 _Well damn_. Phil thought to himself as he gave Agent Hill a nod in reply to his inquiry.

The elusive Council Members were unknown persons who had their hands in many of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization's projects, missions, and general running. For now, the Agent was out of luck. Even Coulson wasn't privy to what those discussions were about. He would be forced to wait until their business was concluded before he would have a chance to speak with Director Fury.

"Thank you, Agent Hill." Coulson murmured as he moved on his way towards Fury's office. If nothing else, he could try waiting for a little bit and hopefully catch Fury as he left his meeting

In spite of Phil's good intentions, everything unraveled quickly in such a short amount of time that he didn't have a chance to mention what he was thinking deep in his gut to Director Fury before events had already begun to unfold and spiral rapidly out of control.

It began with Thor confronting Coulson on his lack of humanity, a devastating blow to his cover that had Coulson mentally reeling, and put the plans of his true superiors in jeopardy. The only saving grace that Phil could see in the situation was that the Asgardians were ancient Allies to his people. Coulson thought this oversight could be repaired, meetings would have to be scheduled with his King Harold, or one of his Regents.

Thor himself seemed to be unaware of the Ancient Alliance connection between their respective races, which was potentially a huge problem. Prince Thor had many positive and admirable traits to his personality. However, he also had his flaws. The man was not exactly known to be the most discreet individual, and Coulson's life depended on silence in this matter. S.H.I.E.L.D. could not get a hold of any information about Phil's position within the organization, or the Valkyrie's presence on Earth. Too many lives depended on the spy organization being blind to their activities.

The meeting between them had been fraught with tension, and full of the both of them verbally feeling one another out. Both the men uncertain of the other person's trustworthiness now that it had been uncovered that Phil was hiding his non-human status. Coulson was unprepared to be confronted by the Asgardian and therefore did not have a plan already in place on how to handle the situation. He'd been completely unaware that Thor would be able to sense his 'otherness' from the human beings around him. It made him grateful that he'd brought Thor into the dark room for this conversation, because the room was secure, and nothing could be recorded or received from the broken camera in the corner of the room. Whatever was said, would stay between the two of them. However, this new information also made Coulson wonder if Loki would also be able to sense his nonhuman presence. It was important information that would have to be verified and shared with his handlers at the soonest opportunity.

By the end of the unexpected meeting, Coulson was relieved to find that Thor wasn't a threat to his position within S.H.I.E.L.D. The Prince's ultimate concern had been the safety of the people of earth, specifically his personal friends. Thor appeared to be uninterested in why Phil was here, or what he was doing. He never once directly asked, or even attempted to pry, and made it very blatant that he was consciously doing so. Phil wasn't sure exactly why, but was reluctant to question what seemed to be a gift. Coulson knew there was more that Thor wasn't saying. Could feel it like an itch under his skin that wouldn't relent. There was much more going on, but Thor himself, was not thus far appearing to be a threatening in any way that Coulson could discern. The whole thing gave him mixed feelings.

Coulson found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to trust in someone he wasn't entirely sure he could. Thor was his tentative friend, but Coulson was very much aware that other loyalties sometimes came before personal, friendship. Phil himself, after all, knew this first hand. Regardless of the fact that Thor, for the time being, seemed to be giving out a free pass. Being a natural cynic, and much used to seeing plots within plots, it made Coulson immediately wonder what sort of favor Thor would request in the future for this contrived disinterest. Thor might not be a discrete, or manipulative person usually, but he was a Prince. A Royal. Court games of intrigue and deception were taught to them nearly from the moment of conception. At least, that had been what Coulson's personal experiences had taught him so far.

While the Valkyrie Court on Earth was only a tiny fraction of what it had been on their homeworld before its destruction, Coulson still had to report to them. It was an encounter that alway required him to have his wits and senses at their sharpest. The Court on Earth was softer than the one on their homeworld had been, most had been killed by war or disease and were replaced by new faces and bloodlines. It made the change necessary, and finally possible. Their young King was reclusive and sheltered. Hidden away from all but a few, himself included until he was old enough to take up the reins his mother had left behind with her ending of her own life many years ago. Just as Thor was obligated to report to his Father, or even his Mother, on anything that might cause concern for Asgardian interests, Coulson was beholden to the Council. Regardless of personal feeling and preferences, both of them still had to technically betray men they respected and admired, like Fury, for the benefit and progression of his race. And his King.

Coulson left the meeting still feeling uneasy, hoping he wasn't making a fatal mistake. His instincts were of no help in the matter. They still thrummed that steady pulse of _danger, danger_ through his blood, but offered Coulson no direction in which to turn. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Again, Phil sought out Maria to find out if Fury was now unoccupied, but once more, his mission was thwarted. This time by another one of the Avengers. Their most exasperating and troublesome one. Maria's tone, while seemingly giving nothing away to the typical agent, rang loud and clear with unashamed amusement to Coulson's well-trained ear. "It would seem that Mr. Stark has managed to find a way of snooping in classified files while on board."

She waved a hand in an apparent dismissive gesture, before continuing. "Fury felt the need to stalk off and deal with the resulting situation himself. Before Stark became an even bigger pain in the ass."

Just hearing Tony Stark's name out of Maria's mouth made Phil want to roll his eyes in aggravation. He did not of course. Coulson had more decorum than that, and a reputation for stoicism to maintain.

"Right. I suppose I'll just walk down to the lab then." As he started to turn away from her to do just that, a firm hand gripped his arm, halting Coulson in place.

"Rogers is down there as well. Apparently, there is some kind of squabble. According to whispers."

The little smirk on Maria's lips told him that she, at least, wasn't the least bit fooled by the long, slow blink Phil gave as his only non-verbal reaction to the news that Captain Rogers and Tony Stark were once again at one another's throats.

"Of course he is. Because where else would the Captain be?" Coulson turned sharply on his booted heel, again walking through the corridors to find his disobedient Avengers and see if he could straighten out whatever fluster the two of them had gotten themselves into now.

Whatever it was, it was troublesome enough to garner Fury's personal attention, which was never a good sign. Some days, Phil wanted to hand in his resignation...or even just point his gun at someone particularly annoying and pull the trigger. Today was turning into one of the latter.

He didn't understand what the two's problem was with each other. They didn't need to be besties at this point. They just needed to tolerate one another long enough, work together well enough to handle the danger that Loki's plans posed to Earth and her people. It seemed so simple to Coulson, yet, Captain America and Ironman, appeared to be more than determined to verbally rip each other to pieces at each given opportunity.

Stark appeared resolved to hate the Captain for whatever unfathomable reason he had, while the Captain appeared to have simply decided he didn't like Stark's nasty attitude and returned it in kind. At the end of the day, the two of them just made Coulson's job that much difficult.

Briefly, Phil wondered if anyone would notice if he shoved them all off the edge of the Helicarrier and into the middle of the International Ocean below.

 _Probably._

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

As Coulson strode purposefully down the corridor towards the labs where Stark and Banner were working on tracking the Tesseract, Phil was suddenly and violently thrown off of his feet as the whole ship drunkenly lurched to one side.

He landed on his left side heavily enough to knock all of the breath from his body, as an explosion ripped through the interior of the craft. Leaving in its wake a sharp overpowering screech of twisted metal ringing in his ears. Blankly Phil looked around him, dizzy and disoriented for what seemed like several long minutes. Other agents were down around him. Some were stumbling back to their feet mostly unhurt, some broken and bleeding, a couple lay too still. Either dead or unconscious. The hallway was a twisted wreck, as though someone had set of bomb off nearby.

It confused Coulson for the first few moments, as he relearned how to make his lungs function properly before it dawned on him that one of the engines was just outside this part of the ship. Shakily, Coulson pushed himself up off the floor where he had landed. He struggled back upright and stumbled over his feet for the first few steps he took before finding his balance again.

Quickly Phil forced his aching body into a staggering run down the corridor he'd just came down, dodging co-workers and debris alike. Intent on ensuring their most dangerous Asgardian cargo wasn't, even now, making his escape.

Coulson's extra senses were screaming at a level and pitch he'd never experienced before, pushing him into a grim frame of mind. It was terribly distracting, making his head pound viciously and his vision swim, while still not giving him any frame of reference in which to act. It made his heart sink low in his chest, realizing that many lives were about to be lost, and not knowing if it would be now, or at some point in the very near future. Coulson ignored it as best he could, resigned to the possibility that nothing he did now could prevent whatever was coming.

Agents scrambled every which way around Coulson as he pushed his way down towards where the prisoners were normally kept. He tried to tune out the frantic shouting of orders, and requests for help back and forth around him as he made his way through the chaos to his destination. Even ignoring the occasional call of his name, his current task was more important in the long run. He didn't have time to stop and help the wounded or help organize anything else. If Loki were to manage to get free now, many more people would die.

When Coulson arrived in the chamber where S.H.I.E.L.D. was keeping Loki, he found himself to be nearly too late. Loki had already somehow escaped his cage but had not yet left the Helicarrier itself. Instead, it appeared that he'd taken the time to trap his brother, Thor, in the same cage that had held him not so long ago.

Briefly, Coulson listened to the banter back and forth between the siblings but focused more of his attention on slipping over towards the hidden weapons cache without being noticed by Loki. Coulson found most of the weapons damaged, or of too low a caliber to do any significant damage to the tough Asgardian. Coulson was forced to pick up a heavy-duty prototype instead, and just hope it worked accurately enough to be useful against Loki without blowing up in his own face in the process.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Loki frowned down at the bleeding man at his feet, perplexed.

"What did you possibly think you could accomplish, Coulson?" He murmured, more to himself than the other. He knew this man's face from Barton's memories. The agent glared at him without response, not that Loki truthfully expected one.

Thor was gone now; he'd dropped his former brother from the ship just moments ago to land wherever luck got him. Either over land or Ocean, it didn't particularly matter to Loki anymore. Nothing was going to stop his forward momentum at this point. But this...being, made him pause.

Curious, despite himself, Loki stalked closer with slow, precise steps. Watching the dying man closely, but without any fear of another attack.

"Pathetic." Loki spat with a strange mix of disgust and amusement. It got him no response. Not even a blink to disrupt that hard stare down aimed in his direction.

The agent was still very much alive, though it did not appear that would be the case for much longer. This, wasn't what had sparked Loki's interest, though. Now that he had a moment to do more than react to the threat of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent attacking him, Loki had easily picked up on his strangeness. His _Otherness_.

"At least you are slightly more interesting than the rest of the ants on this backwater mudhole of a planet." Loki needled again, intentionally trying to provoke him. Coulson continued to just glare at him, watching his enemy approach with no fear in his eyes.

It caused Loki to tilt his head. Most looked at him with fear, or at least a healthy dose of caution, since his arrival. This man did neither. This man, instead, looked at him as if Loki were inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

A rather curious reaction.

Keeping a firm hold of his weapon, Loki crouched down nearby, though not close enough for Coulson to be able to reach him. He tilted his head to the other direction as he examined the person before him. Trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at. This person appeared to be human, but Loki's sharp senses alternatively told him that what his eyes were seeing before him wasn't accurate.

"Hmmm...not much of a conversationalist, are you? These are your last moments, surely have _something_ you want to say...No? Pity."

The Agent lifted his head to look down his nose at the Asgardian's wild blue eyes. Then bared his blood stained teeth at Loki in a vicious parody of a friendly grin, letting loose a raspy chuckle. The disgraced Prince blinked, a little thrown off by the strange expression. The man was mocking him.

"You wear a false face, Agent." Loki intoned in soft anger, tired of his own game and running out of time. He wanted an answer to his unspoken question. Now.

Coulson blatantly ignored the other's demand. Though, he was unsurprised that Loki could see through him more easily than Thor could.

"You're going to lose you know." The agent gritted passed the blood filling his lungs and throat.

Loki leveled the slowly dying Agent with a bored expression, causing Coulson to again chuckle harshly at the fallen royal. Loki furrowed his brow, pursing his lips in annoyance. He detested being the butt of anyone's joke, anger rose in him swiftly, but he pushed it aside. Losing his temper, at the moment, was not useful.

Sneering, Loki clucked his tongue at the other man, sitting back on his heels

"I stopped for this? A dying man's last feeble threat? Pathetic, and a waste of my time." Now disinterested, Loki rose to his feet once more and began to turn and walk away when the Agent spoke again. Loki flicked his gaze back towards him.

"In the end, it doesn't matter what damage you do...or the number of people you end up killing."

Unable to resist, Loki turned back to face the man on the floor, both entertained and scornful as he replied. "Oh...still rooting for your ragtag band of insipid Avengers? They can't even carry a simple conversation without wanting to kill one another. How do you propose that _they_ of all people, will overcome _me_? They are _nothing_. They are not a threat."

That strange smile spread on the Agent's face once again, even as he choked on his frothing blood bubbling on his lips. Disconcerted, though Loki's expression did not shift in the slightest, he watched the man push his hissed words out past clumsy lips.

"They're nothing compared to _HIM_ , Loki."

Coulson dragged in another breath, fighting through the pain and his fading consciousness. Loki narrowed his eyes, his grip on the scepter tightening. Scathingly, Loki interrupted. " _Oh?_ A dead man's threat, how trite. And I suppose _now_ you're going to enlighten me?"

Coulson again ignored the Asgardians attempts to rile him. "He'll come for you...and you'll fail. In the end, you'll fall before him. Be careful where you tread, would be conqueror, lest you wake him…"

Blue eyes narrowed, as a chill crept up Loki's spine. Now he understood the lack of fear from this man. He was some kind of zealot or fanatic. There was no reasoning with this sort. So he just snorted contemptuously and shook his head.

"You waste your last breaths, mortal."

He watched the dying man finally give up, slumping over as his eyes fluttered closed into eternal darkness. In silence, Loki stood for a few moments just glaring down at the corpse of his enemy as he turned over the man's words in his mind. Normally, he would dismiss such threats out of hand. This, Loki could not let it go. Not in the face of Coulson's overwhelming lack of humanity.

Something was wrong. Something was off. He could sense the wrongness under his skin but was unable to pinpoint exactly what caused it. There was too many small instances of strangeness for him to completely ignore any longer.

Stark had magic around him that was not his own, for one, and now, there was a hidden non-human in the middle of one of Midgard's most powerful defense organizations, who spoke of another more powerful being.

There was more going on here on Midgard than he could see.

Frowning, Loki finally turned from the dead man and walked away. Making a beeline for where Barton's ship should be to pick him up. He easily slipped away in the chaos of the failing engines. With the Hulk loose and inducing terror, people were more interested in saving their own asses. No one else tried to stop him, and shortly he was on the small carrier jet and flying away.

Unfortunately, sans Barton.

It was a loss, but not an unworkable one. It didn't matter if S.H.I.E.L.D. captured or killed the archer. Barton knew nothing further of Loki's plans at this stage, and didn't know where the portal had been set up to be opened. The only ones still living and privileged with that information were himself and Selvig. Everyone else had been permanently disposed of. Loki could waste no more time here playing little mind games with the Avengers.

If there was another inhuman power at work here on Midgard, then Loki needed to complete his appointed tasks swiftly. There was no telling at this point, how powerful, or what resources they had at their disposal. The sooner his borrowed Chitauri army was on the planet, the more stable Loki felt his metaphorical footing would be. The U.S. Eastern Seaboard would be the perfect place to begin his assault on this planet.

 _First, let us see how the infamous Merchant of Death likes hosting destruction in his own backyard. There is a sort of...poetry...to opening the portal there, after all._ Loki mused, a shark-like grin twisting its way onto his dry, chapped lips.

It caused the minions sharing the back of the jet with him to shift anxiously. Even in their mind controlled state, their hindbrain still recognized a dangerous, unpredictable predator nearby.

ldly the Asgardian caressed the scepter with his fingertip, gazing down into the glowing blue gem. It's otherworldly color reflecting back into his mad gaze as his thoughts continued to circulate restlessly over this new possible player on the board.

 _Let this hidden adversary show themselves to me if they dare. It will be a pleasure to demonstrate why I am widely acknowledged as a master of strategy and deception._

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Tony slowly lowered the battered suit into his personal Stark Tower balcony, watching Loki, who had been obviously waiting for him, closely as he did so.

"Plan B then," Tony muttered under his breath, his mind spinning to come up with something to buy himself time.

"Sir, the Mark Seven is not ready for deployment" Jarvis cautioned urgently in his ear.

"Then skip the spinning rims, we're on the clock." He replied distractedly.

The suit thunked heavily as Tony dropped it onto the concrete, walking calmly to his left and ignoring the circular mechanism that popped up to remove the heavy Ironman suit piece by piece. Loki watched Tony as much as Tony watched the disgraced God. The both of them matching each other's pace as they both stepped into the penthouse.

"Please tell me you aren't going to appeal to my humanity." Loki teased as he casually strolled into Tony's living room from the other balcony door.

"Uh, actually I'm planning to threaten you," Tony stated without showing any apparent care.

Loki tilted his head a bit and chuckled, subconsciously gesturing with the scepter in his hand. "You should have left your armor on for that."

"Hmm...yea." By this point, Tony was distracted more with what was going on in his head, than the conversation he was now having.

Luckily, Loki wasn't in a rush at the moment. He was content to observe this man without his armor on. As far as looks went, Stark was undoubtedly an attractive man. His intelligence spoke well for him, even if his ego did not. However, all this was a secondary observation. Loki was much more interested in the magic clinging to Stark's skin. It confirmed that whatever spell it was, it was attached to the man himself, not his flying armor. It only fascinated Loki more. As such, he was willing to play along with whatever game Stark was attempting to engage him in. For now.

Tony strolled calmly down the stairs and began making his way over to the private bar. Gesturing in a dismissive manner towards Loki. "It's seen a bit of mileage and uh..you've got the Glow Stick of Destiny."

Loki glanced down at the scepter in his hand, a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. He was amused, despite himself.

"Would you like a drink?"

The question pulled a full blown smile from Loki without his permission. "Stalling me won't change anything," Loki warned calmly.

"No, no, no. Threatening."

Tony tossed out from behind the bar, rummaging around for a couple of glasses. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one." _Of course the Asgardian would turn down a perfectly good drink. Heathen._

Loki bared his teeth a bit in utter annoyance and turned away without answering, striding over to gaze out the window instead. Admittedly, the view was glorious and definitely worth a good long observation. Tony had certainly paid enough for it. At the moment, however, the picturesque cityscape beyond the glass was the last thing on the billionaire's scurrying mind. There were other things to be concerned about.

"The Chitauri are coming," Loki said instead. "Nothing will change that." Loki turned back around to look at Tony as the man finally found himself a scotch bottle. "What have I to fear?"

Tony didn't bother to look up as he pulled the top off the scotch in preparation to fill his glass tumbler. "The Avengers." Tony flicked a glance up at the Asgardian, briefly taking in the inquiring expression.

He rolled his eyes. "It's what we called ourselves. Its sorta like a team. Earth's mightiest heroes type thing." Tony carefully poured some of the scotch as he waited for Loki's expected response. He wasn't disappointed.

"Yes, I've met them." Loki was clearly not impressed by the mentioned heroes.

"Yea. Takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one." Tony offered with a shrug. Conceding the point that the Avengers had given a rather poor showing of themselves thus far. Tony was determined to change that.

Loki was standing in his home, threatening the people under Tony's care, the people of this city. Loki was far too fucking close to where Harry's golem and his mother were vulnerable, and Tony was going to make this Asgardian eat his words. Every single one of them. Somehow.

"But, let's do a headcount here." Tony continued, "Your brother, the demigod."

Tony watched as Loki scoffed in disgust and turned away towards the windows once again. He eyed Loki nervously and discreetly slipped the metal bracelets for the Mark Seven onto his wrists from the surface of the bar while the mad God was occupied with staring out over the second city Tony called home from the penthouse windows. Loki turned away from them once again, observing Tony as he monologued, slowly pacing closer in a seemingly non-threatening manner as he continued to speak.

"The Super Soldier. A living legend who, kinda lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger management issues." Loki's eyes briefly met Tony's with another smirk tugging at his lips with that turn of phrase.

"A couple of master assassins, and you, big fella. You've managed to piss off each and every one of them."

"That was the plan."

Tony took a sip of his scotch. "Not a great plan," Tony's gaze was preoccupied with watching every minuscule muscle twitch Loki made. Trying to stall a little while longer while Jarvis was occupied with finishing the build on his Mark seven suit. The Mark six was toast already, thanks to Barton and his wonderful trick arrows blowing up the engine of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

 _Oh, and Rogers being undisputedly useless when it came to any form of modern technology. Or being where he was supposed to be. You know, important shit like that so I didn't get chewed up and spit out by high velocity rotating engine blades._

So the suit was better off retired at this point. It was little more than spare parts and scrap metal for future projects. It irked him beyond belief how quickly and easily his previous suit had been pretty much totaled, but that was a tantrum for another time.

Right now, Tony needed all of his considerable mental focus on the Sarcastic Wonder pacing like a caged animal in front of his bar. If he could manage to delay just a few minutes more for the suit to be completed by Jarvis- but it was not to be.

Tony walked out from behind the bar with his tumbler of scotch as he spoke again, more confident and cocky as he went. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army." Loki intoned with irritation.

"We have a Hulk." Tony offered with an arched, borderline mocking, eyebrow.

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off." Loki bit out with a sneer.

"Yea, you're missing the point." Tony cut Loki off before he could speak further. Causing the Asgardian to seeth. He stalked down the bar steps onto the living room floor, gesturing aggressively as his anger with Loki started to get the better of him.

"There's no Throne. There is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us. But it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the earth, then you can be damn well sure we're going to avenge it."

Tony took another sip of his scotch.

Loki, having had enough of verbally circling one another, stalked towards him with menacing intent. But Tony didn't back down, just met his gaze steadily as he approached, not flinching. He needed to give Jarvis just a little bit longer.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki threatened. The scepter was suddenly in Tony's view, stretched out threateningly like a gaudy claw of doom in some bad B-movie horror film.

For just a second, panic tried washing over Tony's nerves. His muscles tensed as he checked the instinctive urge to flinch from it. Before Tony could figure out a way to back away from the weapon without provoking the other man into further violence, a sharp ringing _'clink'_ resounded in the room. The blade tip of Loki's scepter had bounced off the Arc tech embedded in his chest.

Briefly, Tony's vision wobbled, swimming out of focus for just a few frantic heartbeats. His thoughts muddled as a haze of blue light flickered over everything he could see before just as quickly fading back into normal coloration range. A chilling spark traveled up and down his spine in the blink of an eye before it dissipated as his heart tried to twist out of his chest. He stopped breathing for just a moment in terror induced anticipation for -

Nothing.

Tony watched in silence as Loki's victorious grin faded, his brow furrowed in confusion. Loki's crazy eyes dropped from Tony's own blue ones down to the tip of the scepter in his hand. For just a second, the rogue Asgardian was unmistakably, utterly bewildered, and it showed itself with the slack blankness in his expression.

The scepter sharply _'clinked'_ again as Loki attempted his VooDoo Whammy a second time, just for good measure. Tony felt the odd sensation pass over him once more, and still, there was nothing.

"This usually works," Loki muttered, perplexed. Tony took the short time to relearn how to breathe, and slow his galloping heart rate.

He was still Tony Stark. Snarky bastard extraordinaire. Not some jumped up sock puppet dancing to this alien psycho's warped tune, as Barton had been according to Black Widow. Relief nearly had Tony's knees buckling under him. He hated feeling vulnerable and weak.

So, of course, he just had to open his mouth, without taking care as to what fell out.

"Oh, well, performance issues…"

Which led to Tony becoming rather more well acquainted with the structural integrity of the glass in his penthouse windows than he ever wanted to be, freefalling without any suit to speak of and learning a new appreciation for just how high the Stark Tower truly was.

Oh, and Jarvis. For saving his bacon. Again.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Death serenely beheld the crumbling skyline of Manhattan, New York, her unfathomable, inhumanly opaque eyes unblinking as she observed the once proud gleaming metropolis slowly topple from its long-held place upon American society's pedestal. The celestial entity was wholeheartedly unmoved by the historical events taking place in front of her.

It was not much different than the burning of the Imperial City in Rome, not so long ago, for an ageless being such as herself. A great world power brought low by its own carelessness and arrogance. Blinded and made complacent by the unshaken belief that nothing could threaten it. For Rome at that time, it had been the elemental force of fire that had served as humanity's reminder that mortality is a certainty. In this time, here and now, it was the mad Asgardian Loki and his loaned Chitauri army.

Dispassionately, she wondered if Manhattan too would have its own version of burning for six days and seven nights. She contemplated whether or not the city would resemble the scorched ruin Rome had become when the Chitauri had their fill of destruction and moved on the search for new victims. She speculated on how many perished souls she would take into her keeping in this single day alone. Many would violently enter into her purview this day, she knew with certainty.

In the end, after the fires of Rome had burnt themselves out, roughly seventy percent of the Imperial City's population had expired. Before starvation and disease had set in and demanded their due.

Distantly, Death could hear the low hum of Fate's power working over the city, under the horrific screams of the terrified, and the dying. She floated, invisible in the air over the battered buildings, drifting slowly down Park Avenue towards where the Stark Tower was located.

She observed in silence as blue lights flickered here and there through the curling smoke and dust, a calling card of alien firepower. Humans scrambled like frantic ants in every direction, their murderers chasing them down and granting their souls brutal entry into her domain as another life was mercilessly snuffed out.

She watched the huge Leviations corkscrew and ripple through the air with a strange grace reminiscent of several of Earth's own sea creatures, and found them beautiful, in their own deadly way. She'd always had a fondness close to her heart for elegant monsters.

Whole destabilized buildings were tumbling over, sometimes bringing down others around them, leaving horrific devastation in their wake. Pieces of other damaged structures fell to the ground below. Glass carving, metal and stone splattering any beings unlucky enough to be in the way when the debris landed.

Families were being torn apart in the maelstrom. Mothers lost children. Husbands lost wives. Children were snatched up by well-meaning strangers and carried away. People were crushed under their stampeding, panicked fellows, fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. Others simply fell prey to the depravities of their fellow humans.

The paved streets ran red in places, littered with dead bodies and twisted remains of what were once people. Though they resembled nothing more than mangled piles of flesh now.

Her Reapers flickered in and out of her view, collecting souls at a swift, efficient pace. Little more than shadow beings, there and gone in a single breath as they scooped up their targets and moved on to the next one.

Their souls were ferried back and forth by her Reapers to wherever their resting place would ultimately be. Most would wait in the veil, in a limbo like pocket until they could be properly sorted. Others would immediately go to their paradise, their reincarnation, or their damnation as appropriate.

 _It's interesting,_ She mused in a remote way to herself, _Just how many varied ways humans can come up with to punish and torment themselves in the afterlife._

She'd never understood it. How souls, so powerfully strong and fragile at the same time, could create their own personal 'hell' or 'heavens.' But they could, and did. The so-called afterlife was a very subjective idea after all, and every soul had its own idea of what would come next.

It was simply her job, and her minions, to take them there. What happened after that wasn't truly her concern. Eventually, they all returned to the Source of Creation, regardless of when. Even she would, some unknown day. Another might take her place, or not. It wasn't for her to know.

Nor was it her place to interfere in the events going on here, not for them, not for any of the myriad of human lives snuffed out below her in endless bloody, painful ways. She was simply to witness and collect those souls that belonged to her.

However, there were a handful of exceptions. Any of Harry's Valkyrie were personally collected by herself and held in a separate place from the other souls in Limbo. They belonged to him, not to her, and he should be the one to determine what he wanted to do with them. There were few caught up in the fray, most were able to defend or hide themselves well enough to stay alive. Death wasn't particularly worried about them, most of Harry's people were still over in Britain, and Europe at this point.

It wasn't them, that Death was watching so carefully. She knew, given enough time, she would find Tony Stark amid the chaos. The alien beings were attacking one of his home bases after all. Ironman would not ignore the events taking place. Especially, when there was a transdimensional wormhole hovering over his precious Stark Tower, the epicenter of it all.

As Death came closer to the Tower, signs of wholesale slaughter instead slipped into indications of melee. The large green form of the Hulk could be spotted scaling the side of nearby buildings, smashing Chitauri unlucky enough to find themselves within the angry creature's reach.

As she looked up at the portal above the Tower, lightning streaked across the blue sky, courtesy of Loki's former sibling Thor. She didn't see Captain Rogers at that time, nor the S.H.I.E.L.D. assassins, but she knew they were somewhere in the fray.

None of them were her concern. She couldn't care less about their fates. She was looking only for the one she sworn to protect. Death was uncertain how much protection she would be able to offer Harry's destined mate. Fate's power heavy influence hung in near stifling intensity over the city.

It took her some time, but Death finally spotted Tony in the chaos. He was a sorry sight to be found. The Ironman suit was battered and scraped. It was apparent that Stark had already taken quite a beating, but Tony was determined to continue on and refused to give in. Fighting tooth and nail to destroy any of the Chitauri troops he came across. Before she could move closer to him, he suddenly shot off away from the main area of conflict towards the ocean side of the city. She followed swiftly on his heels, determined not to lose track of him. It was her priority to keep him alive for Harry's return to Earth, even if that meant she had to metaphorically glue herself to his coattails.

At first, she wasn't sure what exactly he was doing leaving the battle behind them. Then she saw the nuclear missile heading straight towards them. She watched with mounting disbelief as he swung around to grab it from underneath. Her eyes instinctively flicked towards the glowing portal, and she scowled as it clicked in her mind what his new attempt at making her job more difficult was going to entail. A furious hiss left her lips.

 _Damn the man._

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Stark. You know that's a one-way trip?" Steve's voice crackled over the damaged intercom in his helmet.

Tony ignored him, his eyes busy darting over the readouts in front of him. He didn't bother to answer Rogers. Instead, he spoke only to Jarvis. He didn't need distractions right now, or the chance to really contemplate what it was exactly that he was doing. The only thing he let himself think about, where the lives of the people below him. Lives that were now balanced in his less than clean hands.

"Save the rest for the turn, J" He intoned calmly.

"Sir, shall I bring up Harry's camera feed?" Jarvis solemn voice inquired.

"What?" Tony questioned, thrown off guard. "Who's Harry?"

"Sir?" Jarvis ventured softly, soundly clearly confused.

Tony dismissed it out of hand, making a mental note to check Jarvis over when everything was done with. Assuming he lived through this. Nothing else was important right now, other than making sure the nuke went where it was supposed to. He cut the AI off before the conversation could even start.

"Never mind, J. We have other things to deal with right now."

They sped closer to the portal, and Tony began to feel his nerves. Adrenaline flooded his system once more as the pinnacle moment approached. He had to get the timing of this just right, or he would be vaporized instantaneously, and metropolis the under his metal feet would be destroyed.

"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" Jarvis spoke again, breaking the winding spiral of Tony's thoughts. He considered briefly, images of the attractive redhead flashing quickly through his mind.

"Might as well." He conceded.

 _Just in case._ Tony thought to himself. He hated goodbyes and refused to think of this as one. But he really wanted to hear the voice of the woman he loved, one more time.

 _Just in case._

A picture of her came up on his screen. Some company photo that really didn't do her justice. It didn't show any of the natural energy she exuded in person. The call rang softly, once, twice, again and again.

No answer.

Tony left it ringing as he powered the thrusters for the final push into the portal, putting everything he had into forcing the missile to curve the way he needed it to. It was barely enough. His belly and toes scraped the side of the building as he passed it, sparks flying.

He whipped passed Black Widow, holding the scepter poised to crash the portal down, and Selvig, who tipped his head back to watch. All these things, Tony noticed as background information. Everything within him was focused on his one goal. He followed the portal's blue beam of light up into the sky. As he finally passed the lip of the portal, it opened up into blackness and stars.

The first thing Tony noticed, was the acute lack of air. It was pulled forcefully from his chest in the blink of an eye. It was pure agony, as his lungs worked to desperately suck in badly needed oxygen from the hostile environment around him. But there wasn't anything to be had.

The flashing 'call failed' sign blinked in his face along with Pepper's picture. As far as possible last sights went, Tony figured he could do a hell of a lot worse. Then the screen abruptly went dark as his connection with Jarvis was cut off. In quick succession functions all over the suit failed or simply shut down with no power connection to feed them.

He felt his grip on the missile slipping, but by then, he couldn't do much more than twitch his fingers. His mind was consumed with the horrifying need to breathe. His body screamed for it. His head pulsed and ached. Finally, the nuke slid completely out of his grasp and Tony saw the Chitauri main ship against the purplish/blue backdrop of their version of a sun. Dozens more Levitation were making their way towards the still open portal.

The nuke struck, and white light filled his vision completely for just a slow couple of heartbeats as the ship was obliterated. As the light took over his sight, Tony could just barely make out the strange form of a woman floating in the void directly in front of him. She was unlike any woman Tony had ever seen before. Animal instinct told Tony the being before him wasn't human.

She was scowling, and he was familiar enough with women, in general, to know that she was unbelievably pissed for some reason. Her lips moved as she spoke harshly, but Tony could not understand what it was she was trying to convey to him. Tony had the vague impression she was cussing him out.

With a ferocious scowl, she suddenly stopped, apparently realizing that Tony wasn't able to understand her. She reached out with both hands and gave him a vicious shove back the way he had come. Before Tony had the chance to respond in any way, all thought processes were lost to him, as the lack of oxygen stole away his last feeble grip on reality.

Lifelessly, the inert form of Ironman drifted back through the closing portal, just barely making it through before the discharging energy collapsed. Gravity once more a factor, the Ironman suit plummeted with increasing speed down to the Earth's surface without its creator waking up to guide it to safety.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The first days, let alone the first few weeks after the Chitauri assault on New York, were pure unmitigated hell. Loki and Thor had both returned to Asgard and thus managed to completely escape the three ring circus that came after the shocking Battle of New York.

The media was a nightmare, and the government at all levels were tripping over their feet, not knowing which direction to turn. People were angry. People were scared. They wanted answers, they wanted solutions, and they wanted them now.

The public's initial reactions to the Avengers and the events surrounding them were a mixed bag of responses at first. Some people wanted to blame them for damages, loss of life, or not being able to prevent the attack in the first place. Others were openly grateful they survived at all. Most of them were the ones that had experienced ground zero first hand.

The team was the target of the media nearly as much as the politicians and officials in the aftermath, if not more. The overwhelming reaction of those in government positions getting slammed by the News forums and the public, seemed to be 'blame the vigilantes for everything'.

It didn't stick.

Public outcry started immediately. Youtube videos from cellphones began popping up all over the place, showing various members of the Avengers team defending trapped and helpless people. Attacking the Chitauri and driving them back relentlessly. There were even videos of Captain America helping clean up debris side by side with the FEMA and Red Cross workers. Pictures and videos of Tony Stark pledging millions of dollars towards rebuilding the city he loved, also out there helping out with his own two hands where he could.

Tony and Steve became even bigger media icons seemingly overnight.

Twitter blew up with hashtag examples such as; _#WherewastheArmy?_ Or _#Avengerslife._ There were others, but the media ran with those two the most. Both supporting the superhero darlings that sent their ratings skyrocketing through the roof and taking potshots at the government for just about everything they could come up with.

It would seem, once the dust began to settle, that in the court of public opinion, the Avengers had the compelling approval of America's citizens.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

In the ensuing days afterward, Pepper was run nearly ragged by the frenzy of the New York fallout. She'd hardly slept in the first three days following the Chitauri attack on the city. Her cellphone had not stopped vibrating since the alien invaders were confirmed as defeated by the Avengers team. There had been an exorbitant amount of work that needed to be done even before her plane had landed on the JFK tarmac.

The foremost inquiry out of nearly everyone was whether or not Tony Stark had survived his fall from the portal back to Earth.

It had been a harrowing few hours during the flight as Pepper repeated to herself again and again that Tony was just fine. While silently praying to anyone that would listen to her pleas that upon reaching her destination, she would not be made a bold faced liar. The simple truth of the matter had been that no one there had thought to try and contact her after the fact. Nor had anyone responded to her frantic attempts to get a hold of them herself. Not even Jarvis, which rattled her nerves in ways she couldn't fully explain. There was no reason that she could come up with the Jarvis would not respond to her unless the AI was somehow unable to.

Seeing the missed call from Tony on her briefly forgotten cell phone had left a heavy lead ball in the pit of her stomach the whole way home. Needless to say, once she finally reached her intended destination, she was a tangled razor wire ball of unleashed fear and fury.

Rather than release her internal emotional tempest and let it burn out in a flashbang blaze, over and done with, she clutched it to her heart with metaphorical claws. She clung to the hard shield of emotional protection. Determined not to break down until the worst of the chaos had blown over, and she could do so in private. She reinforced that toxic shield, hardening it around herself.

Slowly her expression and sharp gaze had settled into icy prissiness.

She had known that there would be cameras and observers everywhere, possibly watching every move and reaction. She already had enough to deal with without adding her own drama to the list of public targets of mockery that she was certain would start up soon, if they hadn't already.

Once she landed, the first thing she had done was track Tony down and confirm for herself that he was in one piece, breathing and very much alive. Unable to vent her stress at an unconscious man, and unwilling to scream at the doctors that had put him under for X-rays in the first place. Pepper stormed back into the waiting room.

To her angry eyes, none of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents or members of the Avengers were conveniently around. It infuriated her even further that Tony had been apparently abandoned, despite his sacrifice, without any sort of protection or at the bare minimum, a watcher to keep out any snooping press.

Had she bothered to do more than glare down her nose at everyone around her as she snarled into the cell phone perpetually attached to her ear, she might have noticed several plainclothes guards hovering close to Tony's room, as well as a few lingering in the waiting room where she paced. She did not, however, bother to take note, too wrapped up in her wildly swinging, barely contained, rage.

Haughtily she had made certain that Tony was looked over by the best doctors she could get her hands on during the crisis. When not sniping at nurses and doctors over everything concerning Tony's care, her time was taken up almost exclusively by questions and concerns coming from Stark Industries shareholders, the mudslingers from their competitors and/or detractors and responding to the media storm all of that entailed. Luckily, the majority of it she could do on her phone or her Ipad, so she was able to remain close by as Tony was looked over.

She never does discover why Jarvis was unresponsive to her, and she finds herself too busy to pursue the issue. Within a few hours, she nearly forgets about the matter as the AI had started responding to her again after her plane had landed, making her frantic tasks that much easier to wrangle and organize as she waited for Tony to be discharged.

The clinic had refused to release Tony for four days. Two of which, they had kept him unconscious for various tests, scans and observations. They were intensely concerned with what his time unprotected in the dark void of space may have done, and so were looking for anything they could think of. Pepper only left long enough to eat, sleep and change her clothes, unless a pressing matter, unable to be resolved any other way, forced her out of the building. In these cases, Pepper had Happy remain in her place, along with two of the company's own occasionally hired bodyguards.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

A large chunk of Pepper's inner turmoil settled once Tony had woken up, and more again when each test came back within normal healthy parameters. The only thing they could find wrong with Tony was a slight sleep disturbance. Which they weren't concerned about considering that he'd just been in battle. An overall body ache with an accumulation of scrapes and bruises from before mentioned combat wasn't unexpected. All of which were properly cleaned and cared for. Within a short amount of time, papers were filed, and Tony was discharged to do as he pleased.

Tony was apparently fine, and he reassured her with his usual charm and wit. Calming the wrathful beat in her chest, for the time being. She'd known, though, that sooner or later, they would have to talk about Tony's hobby as Ironman. For the time being, she'd let it go, not wanting to start a conversation she knew would end in an argument on the heels of the Chitauri attack. There were too many other things on their collective plate that needed handling as it was. These issues needed to be seen to first.

Pepper assured herself mentally that she would bring up her concerns about their future plans a little bit later.

Tony couldn't, after all, continue to play at being a superhero once they were married. Pepper fully intended to have a couple of children as soon as there was a ring on her finger. Pepper had no intention of waiting much longer. She'd already invested years in this man, both working for him and carefully trying to shape him into the husband she wanted while they were dating. It wouldn't be long before she hit that general age where carrying a child through pregnancy could cause complications, or carry a higher risk of an imperfect child being born.

Neither of which she found acceptable for several reasons. Tony deserved a perfect child to carry on his name for one, and she wouldn't tolerate any sort of imperfect child sharing her genetics. A defective child would reflect poorly on her part, and she would never let such a thing happen. She'd already made up her mind on possible ways to discreetly deal with the situation if such a thing arose. With or without Tony's knowing, support or input.

Pepper already had to tolerate her mother and her sister, neither of which she considered useful or intelligent in comparison to herself. Marrying and reproducing with Tony Stark would make her finally outshine her older sister, who'd always been seen as better in their mother's eyes. Pepper's mom never had thought much of Pepper's chosen path in life. She'd wanted Pepper to be a proper little socialite and marry young to someone brainless and rich, then pop out his brats. Well, she'd been determined to be more than that. Pepper would have her career, a better husband than her stuck up sister, and a couple of perfect kids as well.

She wouldn't be stuck raising them herself like Charlotte was either. That's what nannies and tutors were for as far as Pepper was concerned. She had better things to do, like run Stark Industries, than run after a baby when she could pay someone else to deal with all the little inconveniences. Babies were tedious and boring until they grew up a little. Instead, she could work and enjoy her kid's accomplishments when they were old enough to be interesting and make an impact.

As soon as they were old enough, they would be off in school, getting educated as much as possible. Combining her own intelligence with Tony's genius was going to have spectacular results, and she wouldn't let her children waste any little drop of talent out of laziness or disinterest. She would make sure Tony could be proud of his offspring, and never regret pairing with her for the rest of their lives.

Pepper would make damned sure of it.

She could just imagine how impressed everyone would be with her children once they were old enough. She enjoyed fantasizing about the attention and compliments she and Tony would receive because of them. How as a family they would bring Stark Industries to never before seen heights. They would be untouchable, and it would all come together because of her. Tony would have the family he secretly, desperately wanted, and she would get everything she wanted too.

It would be perfection.

Pepper had already had everything planned out in her head for years. It had come together in her mind in bits and pieces at first when Tony and her were children in the same boarding school. She'd known then, once she'd gotten to know Tony, that he could go far in life. So she had stayed close to him, watching, and waiting to see what he could become. When she had gone off to college and seen for herself what other options were out there, she'd determined that Tony was the best possible one for what she'd wanted out of life.

There had been one little hiccup, though, by the name of Harold Sinclair. An admittedly handsome British classmate of Tony's. However, she'd quickly gotten rid of him before he'd become much of a threat and from there Tony and she had moved forward with their plans.

Even if he'd had no inkling of them.

She had made a mental note to be careful in the handling of the marriage conversation. Tony was not a man that could be talked into or bullied into such a union. Threats, ultimatums, and tantrums would not work on him in this instance. In fact, it likely would push him into the opposite direction of what she desired. If only out of sheer offense and stubbornness that Pepper had even tried such a tactic in the first place.

However, she knew that careful manipulation might work more to her advantage. She would have to make Tony think it was his own idea, but it would not be the first time she'd pulled off such a feat. Tony might be a brilliant genius, there was no denying it, but he had a huge weakness for those close to his heart. He had a deep need to protect those that were his, need to care for and spoil them. She'd used this weakness in the past to gain mostly unlimited access to a spending account of her own. She'd had it for years now, even before they were officially together as a couple, and was careful not to overly abuse it in such a way he felt the need to ever look closely at it.

Pepper hadn't needed such tactics to earn her position in Stark Industries, whatever people might say behind her back. Tony wasn't vulnerable to such a thing, first of all, he could spot such a corporate ladder climber miles away. Her education and talents spoke for themselves in this area. Her cultured upbringing, which she had despised as a child, and sometimes still did, had also served her well. It hadn't hurt that she'd already been friends with Tony from school age and could get away with subtly flirting with him either.

Something that had sent her rivals, particularly the other women, into jealous hissy fits behind closed doors and left her in smug rapture at their discontent.

It was with these long held fantasies that she was able to mostly breeze her way through the massive upheaval the attacks in New York caused. Secure and confident in the perceived knowledge that once the dust settled, her plans would be once more back on track just the way she wanted them.

As such, it wasn't until much later after Tony's discharge from the hospital that Pepper began to notice that things with his manner were a bit off kilter. They were little things that she had completely missed initially during the whirlwind as New York settled into its new version of reality.

The one where Aliens were now not only evidenced to be very much in existence, but also not the delicate little grey people so many horror or sci fi films had portrayed for years.

In Pepper's defense, both of them were extremely busy individuals with the clean up effort, the rebuilding effort, and managing the media hounds nipping at their heels each and every step of the way. They rarely had time to themselves to take a couple of breaths and regain their equilibrium for the next hurdle, nevermind spending much of it together as a couple.

They rarely managed to schedule a chance to even sleep in the same bed at the same time for a while. Sex was out of the question for a time, both of them just too tired and stressed for more than an exhausted cuddle and maybe a shared glass of wine. As such, Pepper didn't notice right away that despite the Doctors giving Tony the okay to go back to his normal activities, he was very much not okay.

It started with nearly a week of an empty, cold bed.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

He was so damned tired.

Tony stared blurrily at the holo screen hovering in front of him as Jarvis displayed a new Ironman suit model for tweaking. His normally lightening fast neurons were suspiciously sluggish and reluctant to be cooperative to his demands. Because of their insistent resistance to his mental coaxing, Tony was reduced to simply staring at the picture in front of him. Wondering what color scheme to paint the finished product. If he ever got that far, as it was he couldn't make up his mind. Cycling through different combinations, before coming back to the usual red and gold with a sincere lack of enthusiasm for his current project.

"Jarvis, try something in greens and greys," Tony muttered listlessly. Unimpressed with the representation that appeared on the screen.

It wasn't looking good. The schematics were a mess. He'd lost track of how many times Jarvis had to correct his math. Which was frankly, embarrassing. Tony hadn't made mistakes like this since he was in middle school. He couldn't make up his mind about anything, and Jarvis' idea of helping at this point was to be alternately grumpy, sarcastic, and fretting like a worried mother hen about damn near everything Tony did right now.

Without taking his squinted blue eyes off the screen. Tony reached out blindly towards his left and picked up the java cup sitting there. As he took an idle sip from it, he received only empty air. With a sigh, Tony dropped his eyes and glanced down into the woefully empty mug. Too tired to even scowl or grumble about the lack of his liquid nirvana, he just set it back down on the table with a solid thunk. Tony then side eyed the coffee maker across the room and reluctantly decided against getting up to make more.

Coffee wasn't helping anymore anyhow.

Tony turned his head and looked up at the analog clock hanging on the lab's wall. It was after two in the morning, and he had no idea what day it was. He couldn't remember when he had eaten last either. His eyes were achy and gritty. Tony was sure he didn't smell that great either, but he couldn't force himself into the enclosed space of the shower.

Every time he tried, his chest would tighten, as though someone was sitting on it. His breathing would become erratic and shallow. His heart would gallop like it was trying to leap out of his ribcage, and his vision would fade in and out. He got as far as the sink to splash water on his face and use the bathroom. Tony couldn't make himself get into the small shower stall. He'd even tried the larger penthouse bathroom upstairs. It didn't seem to make a difference.

Tony flatly refused to acknowledge the panic attacks for what they were, even in the privacy of his own mind. Jarvis would talk him through it as best he could, even though Tony had viciously ordered the AI into silence after the first one had hit him in the middle of the night when he'd fallen asleep over his work in the lab. The nightmare that had initially woken Tony had been terrifying, but disjointed and he wasn't sure what exactly had happened to send him spiraling so fast. Tony had quickly learned that as long as he kept himself as busy as possible, the anxiety and panic attacks were minimized. Which led him to where he was now.

He knew his hair was frightful. He'd run his hands through it constantly in his increasing stress. He had his rock music on blast at all hours while in his lab, not because he was actually listening to it, but because of the unrelenting silence with the stereo off, was now making him paranoid. Even Jarvis speaking softly to him, about anything and everything, didn't seem to help. Only the music drowning everything out seemed to.

Finally, he just gave up trying to work on the Ironman suit. No sort of progress was being made at this point. He would have to just bite the bullet and try to cat nap on the lab's lumpy couch. Tony slowly gathered himself to his feet, stretching his aching body and creaking joints. He enjoyed the slight burn in his muscles as they unclenched from sitting in one place for so long. With a jaw-cracking yawn, he shuffled over to the ratty couch he'd had since college and heavily dropped his body down onto it. Without a word, Jarvis shut down the open work display and turned down the music, but didn't turn it completely off.

For a brief moment, Tony entertained the wistful idea of going upstairs and curling up around the sleep warm body of Pepper as he pulled the light blanket on the back of the couch over himself. He couldn't of course. Tony had no intention of disturbing her sleep with the troubling lack of his own. He also didn't want to risk lashing out at her. On the rare occasion that he drifted off in the last few days, he'd woken up violently more than once.

Even if he didn't unconsciously put hands on her, it would lead to questions. Questions Tony wasn't ready to acknowledge or answer. Or even think about. Tony had taken to avoiding Pepper and other people as much as he could for the time being. Instead, he buried himself in his work down in his lab, refusing entrance to her, anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers. Not that his supposed teammates had bothered to show up. Tony closed his eyes and forced his mind away from thinking about any of it any longer. Instead, he tried to think about nothing at all, just keeping his mind blank, until Morpheus took over his senses.

Still, sleep wouldn't come.

Tony lay there for what felt like a few hours, resting, but not truly sleeping, until he made himself push the blanket aside and get back up to start working some more. There were no nightmares or flashbacks this time, but that was no guarantee for the rest of his waking hours.

Tony took a deep breath before approaching the lab's little bathroom to do his morning routine, pointedly avoiding the shower stall. He wasn't sure why he was having such a reaction to something so mundane. Flashing lights and explosions he could have understood, but this he just didn't. He hadn't yet attempted getting back into any of the Ironman suits just yet. There was a deep dread low in his guts at just the idea of it Tony wouldn't yet admit to.

All of this was just the tip of the iceberg. Tony knew the symptoms of PTSD from the aftermath of his experiences in Afghanistan. Just as he knew the Battle of New York had pretty much destroyed all the positive progress he had made in that area the years following. Some of his triggers were old familiar friends. The nightmares, the lack of sleep, desperately wanting to drink until he couldn't think straight anymore. Some were new, like the problem with the shower stall, and his problem with long periods of silence. Tony was sure there were other lovely little gems he'd yet to discover as well. All of this was troubling, but not unworkable, yet.

What seriously concerned him were his slips in memory.

There was a laundry list of little things he seemed to have forgotten about his own life, and the people around him. How Pepper took her coffee. Bits and pieces of the Ironman workups were foreign to him. Tony didn't remember at first, what type of music he liked, or why. Just as small starting examples.

Then there were the major concerns. The ones that shook Tony to his very core, and made his heart stutter a bit in fear he wouldn't admit to. He didn't remember certain names or people altogether. He hadn't known who Coulson was when Fury had mentioned something about the man's funeral in an email. He had RSVP'd in the negative when asked about his attendance. It had been days before Tony had finally admitted to Jarvis he had no earthly idea who the hell the man was. How could he completely forget people that he'd known for years?

When Tony pushed too hard to try and remember what he'd lost, the induced migraines made it feel like his head was going to explode. The ensuing nausea was almost as bad, often spiraling into another panic attack. Every time it triggered his nastiest nightmares.

Tony had stopped pushing so hard after the first few attempts. Frustrated, but quickly realizing he couldn't force his brain to repair whatever damage had been done. Jarvis was helping, a little at a time, but it was awkward and slow going.

The one time Jarvis had tried to talk about Harry, Tony had completely shut down. Within seconds he'd been in the midst of a full blown panic attack of epic proportions. He'd been convinced he was going to die right there on the floor. It had taken Jarvis over an hour to coax him back into any semblance of normalcy. Tony's migraine from that episode hadn't left him for nearly two days. The nightmares had been the worst he'd ever experienced. Though when asked, the only thing he could recall with any clarity were a pair of gorgeous silver/green eyes. A color and pattern that just did not exist in nature, as far as Tony could find.

Jarvis hadn't dared to bring anything concerning the mysterious Harry to his attention since, and they continued to limp along, day by day.


	18. Songbird in the Morning

_**!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!* This is not an update, sorry folks if your email got flagged. I was attempting to fix my oversight on this chapter. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out to me! I had completely forgotten about Tony's little bitch fit in chapter 13, thanks for the reminder! Hopefully this fixes it.**_

 _ **Chapter 19 is half done, so no worries on that front, I'm just not a swift writer or editor with everything else in my life going on.**_

Songbird in the Morning

Warnings: Language

A/N: Alright, the dreaded Movie chapters are now behind us! I hated writing them, and I know some of you hated reading them, but they were necessary because the the little changes I made during those events. I do not have any plans at this point to be doing any more of them. That said, at some point the movies following Avengers may be mentioned as background events, but are no longer a large part of my story. Unless I bring Bucky into things, but again, it wouldn't be as a main thing.

This is a Valkyrie and Harry heavy chapter, with some awaited explanations, and the very long awaited and much requested Ginny flashback, as promised!

Thoughts are in Italics

*** Indicate dreams and/or flashbacks***

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meloth glared at the chattering TV, a grim expression adorning his handsome face. With a growling huff of irritation, he crossed tense arms over his broad chest and leaned back in the seat he was currently occupying near the sleeping Prince's bedside. As Meloth's narrowed brown eyes watched the news footage coming live from the wreckage of what was once Manhattan in New York City, he felt a frustrated helplessness take hold of him. Things were spiraling rapidly out of control since the moment they'd stepped out of the Black Gate.

It had been weeks since they'd gotten back, and Harry's subsequent collapse.

Their only Prince was currently incapacitated for who knew how long, with no one entirely certain how to speed up or help Harry in his recovery. Resulting in their own political upheaval that showed no signs of settling down anytime soon. Unless Harry immediately woke up, which was unlikely at this point.

This was only the beginning of their problems.

One of their best spies within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization was dead by Loki's hand, and the body was missing. Their other assets within S.H.I.E.L.D. had no idea where it had been whisked off to, which was troubling on many levels. There had been a funeral, of course, paid for by S.H.I.E.L.D., but there had been no body in the casket when the Valkyrie had gone to attempt recovery for their own funeral rites.

Which indicated a whole new rat's nest of major problems for the coming future. They had no idea if S.H.I.E.L.D. had caught onto their presence. They had no idea if the Valkyrie, Coulson, had truly died, or was being held somewhere, away from their eyes and ears. There have been no attempts to contact them, thus far.

Which left their hands tied for the time being, until they could somehow procure further information. It left everyone who knew about it nervous and frustrated at the lack of options. If they overreached with their people hidden in the organization, they risked exposure of their spies at best or their entire race at worst. If they did nothing, the risks were the same.

Continuing in a similar vein, Tony Stark, suspected mate of their Prince, had publically risked his life to save Manhattan, New York from an invading intergalactic army and now the city was a giant mess, both in a physical sense and a political one. The consequences of the events that day would be far reaching and complicated in a myriad of ways yet to be predicted.

Unfortunately, their Prince's mate was on his own for the time being. The man had fought bravely and fiercely with his companions from what Meloth could determine of the footage that was to be found. At this juncture, however, the Council would not even acknowledge the human male the brothers knew Harry had chosen as his own years ago. Though, the man himself was as yet unaware of his status at this point, as far as they knew.

No help would be sent in his direction. Nor would any be coming for their own people who'd been caught up in the crossfire. Whatever Valkyrie had been unlucky enough to be trapped in the besieged city or its aftermath were, as of the Council's most recent brilliant decision, being left to survive or perish by their own devices.

The Council would not step in and risk tipping their hand to the humans as to their presence on earth. Not for just a handful of their people. It was a choice Harry would not have made. Meloth knew he would have found some way of dealing with it. The Council was too interested in keeping themselves invisible, at the cost of their own people's lives.

Absently, Meloth wondered if they would pass off any unwary Valkyrie spotted as mutants. That might work once or twice, but used too often and people would eventually begin to take notice of multiple winged 'mutants' in the same area. Though the Chitauri army had been defeated and Manhattan was now in the beginning stages of cleaning and rebuilding, the Council would not lend a hand, even discretely.

As bad as the trouble in New York was, the Council had publicly made it well known that New York's disaster was secondary to the plight of their wounded monarch. Not that they were doing much about that either. However, the statement had subsided the rising anger of their people into disgruntled grumbling instead. It did not pacify them long.

Thousands of their new people needed instruction on how to blend into their new mixed society and careful placement into their new home areas. Only a small fraction of this had been started. As of now, most of them were still crammed into a hidden complex in the Carpathian mountain range that Harry had only intended to be a waiting and transition point. They were restless, discontent with their rough cramped lodgings and Meloth couldn't find it within himself to blame them for it. What had only been meant to be a temporary setup for the transition was turning into semi-permanence, and this was not acceptable. Prince Harry had never intended for it to be a long-term refugee camp, and that is what it was, unfortunately, turning into.

Their Prince had so carefully planned and stored supplies for this transition period to make sure everyone was cared for and comfortably fed. Unfortunately, not every avenue could be covered. From the start, they were overburdened with the extra bodies they had not expected to find on the ship, even with Harry putting aside more than he had thought would be needed. Now, any plans Harry had set up for regulation and distribution of resources had fallen by the wayside. Everyone was feeling the pinch as things were donated to the as yet unsettled mass. They were barely staying afloat at this point.

The Valkyrie Council had thus far shown themselves to be utterly useless in reining in the panic and chaos following the collapse of their Prince when he had exited the Black Gate. Too many refugees had been there to witness to his dramatic slip into unconsciousness. In the wake of this, too many of the Council members were more concerned with bickering with one another, trying to find somewhere to place blame, and holding onto their own positions of power, than in reassuring their people.

What was left of the Valkyrie nation; was teetering too close to the edge of civil war. Greed and stupidity abounded nearly unchecked from most every direction. The people were swiftly breaking into quarreling factions. Too many were willing to point fingers and blame each other for slights real and perceived. The Council members were more interested in waffling about trying to placate everyone and accomplishing nothing. None of them seemed to be overly interested in dealing with the steadily brewing explosive issues that were cropping up left and right rapidly. Issues, that admittedly, Harry would normally deal with, but now fell under the Council's purview since he was in no condition to resolve them.

The disaster in Manhattan was only the most recent cherry on the whole fucked up sundae.

And here he was, guarding his Prince, and unable to do anything else to help. It frankly, made Meloth want to throw things around just to burn off some pent up frustration and aggression. It was beyond infuriating, for him to feel so useless. Especially, in the face of everything going on. Even if Meloth knew the best place for him to be was right where he was, protecting his Prince so his brother could tackle the political disasters looming ominously on the horizon. Something Meloth neither had the patience or tolerance for. He was more warrior minded than his older sibling. Such tasks were better left in his devious hands.

The thought caused a toothy smile to cross over his mouth briefly. Kiran was often underestimated by his political opponents because he was well known for his combat skills, and the fact he didn't constantly place himself in the spotlight. Kiran had no qualms about putting anyone who made such assumptions back on their heels when he needed to, and it was endlessly entertaining for Meloth to watch. His brother was both sly and vicious when the situation called for it. The smile melted away quickly. This situation definitely called for it.

With a disgusted sigh, Meloth turned his gaze away from the images flitting by on the screen. Instead, he turned his attention to the slim figure on the bed and watched the slowly rising and falling chest of his Prince. Finding comfort in its steady motions of his breathing as Meloth's thoughts wandered.

Physically, there was nothing wrong with their downed Prince aside from strain and exhaustion. Easily remedied by rest. With their Healers, and Doctors unable to pin down a cause for his state initially with certainty, the Council reluctantly, and with much trepidation, asked some of the Mages to step in and examine him.

Kiran had nearly had fits at the idea, and both of the brothers had watched the Mages like hawks when they were in proximity to the vulnerable Harry.

Mages were a strange, secretive lot to begin with, which often led to nervousness and wariness of their mysterious knowledge and ways among the other Valkyrie. Even if they were an accepted part of their culture and society. Their magic talents and rituals were always carefully guarded, and their secrets were shared only with a select few that were chosen to become apprentices. Those that failed, never seemed to remember what they'd already learned, though Mages as a whole denied the ability to alter memories, it was a public secret that they, in fact, could and did.

Apprentices willingly entered their training with a Mage knowing full well they would face these consequences if they failed to fulfill the required criteria of their magical instruction.

In the years since arriving on earth, the Mages had become progressively enigmatic and distant from the Valkyrie population as a whole. Where before, on their Homeworld, they had very much been a central part of the Valkyrie culture, upon reaching Earth they began fading quietly into the background. Considering the Valkyrie were hiding from the humans that inhabited the planet they were basically squatting on, no one thought twice about their actions. It was smart to keep a low profile in their new home, especially with the reigning Queen occupied by her last surviving child. An unexpected, if tragic, gift. All that was left of her Mate their their family. In that time, unbeknown to anyone else, the Mages had covertly sought to increase their numbers steadily.

When little Prince Harry had shown irrefutable sign of being a powerful mage-child at a very young age, they had not visibly reacted to the knowledge, other than to offer the Queen a selection of powerful tutors to train her fledgling. There was no special treatment or acknowledgement between the Mages and the throne. The little Prince was treated as any other noble-born student would have been. After a time, it was forgotten about. Recently, Harry had begun using his own magic on a regular basis to help the various causes of his people. Only then, did the rest of the Valkyrie population remember that their future King was a powerful Mage in his own right.

Then, in the wake of Prince Harry's incapacitation, the Mages in an unprecedented shocking move, publicly set aside their differences. Consolidating all their generations of accumulated knowledge and resources into one powerful faction. This recent political maneuver finally brought to frightening light, just how much their ranks had swelled. Now amassed together, standing shoulder to shoulder in unity, they were a wrecking ball of political and martial power.

These actions had sent the Council members reeling in alarm and left the general populace bewildered and uncertain of how to respond. Whispers and gossip had abounded about an impending hostile takeover, but nothing had come of these vague and dark accusations. The Mages, well aware of these words, blatantly ignored and denied them, time and again in unwavering fashion.

The Council pulled together a meeting just to discuss their concerns with the alarming state of the Mage organization. In the past, they had never been a threat to the political system, or the monarchy because they'd always been in direct competition with one another, and their number had always been rather low. Now, literally overnight in a terrifying feat of organization, everything had changed.

However, after much debate and vicious arguments, it was determined that there was nothing they could do about it at this time. No laws had been broken, and no threats had been issued or hostile actions taken, so far.

In light of these events, Kiran had shared a small detail with Meloth that the Council had so far seemed to overlook, and he found unsettling. All of them now sported a strange set of tattoos on a highly visible part of their bodies. Proudly displayed and located on both sides of their neck just under and slightly behind the ear, and on the inside of each wrist. The symbol wasn't a complex composition. In fact, it was a rather plain design. A triangle that encased a circle with a line splitting it horizontally down the center, inked in simple black.

No one knew what it meant or indicated, and the Mages flatly refused to share. Even more alarmingly, the symbol seemed to be spreading steadily among the non-mage populace. Both Kiran and Meloth, conferring in the wake of the bedlam, recalled seeing the strange symbol in the past on more than a few of Harry's own guards, spies and ordinary workers within Gemini and Sinclair Biotech. At the time, they had passed it off as simple artistry and a blending in technique. In retrospect, the both of them felt rather stupid for not taking notice of the fact that it was odd for anyone to sport the same tattoo, in the same pattern.

They also shamefully recalled Coulson sending them a report years ago indicating that S.H.I.E.L.D. had picked up on this symbol long before their own people had. Which in and of itself was alarming. Another set of issues that neither Meloth and Kiran were sure how to approach at this time, other than keeping a close eye on the developing situation. Both with the Mages, and S.H.I.E.L.D., though the human spy organization was still apparently just as baffled about their significance as much as the Valkyrie were.

Despite both the brother's misgiving about the Mage's intentions, they proved themselves to be, publically at least, in overwhelming support of their Prince. They treated the unconscious Harry delicately, and with a reverence that was well beyond the expected deference a royal normally garnered. With Kiran and Meloth watching their every twitch for deception in their Prince's presence, they had to admit to finding no fault with their actions, grudgingly. Harry came out of their examination, seeming unchanged and unharmed as much as the brothers could tell.

In the short time the Mages returned with more of an idea of what was wrong with Harry than anyone else. According to them, Harry suffered from severe magical drain and backlash. Neither of the protective brothers were Mages, and so only had a rudimentary understanding of what this meant. Once the technical language had been sorted through and translated into something meaningful, it basically boiled down to this: Harry would sleep until he'd recovered enough of his magical level that he could maintain himself at least at a minimal level of consciousness. Until then, he would not awaken but would continue to heal at his own pace. There were some things both Healers and the Mages could do in conjunction to help his body along and ease its strain, but Harry had to do the bulk of his own recovery.

With these finding, the Council was again awash with rumors and whisperings. Kiran stood in as Harry's representative in the council chambers when and where he could to the best of his considerable ability, but he carried only a fraction of his Prince's power there.

Meloth stayed behind as guard next to Harry's bedside, with a unit of handpicked guards whose loyalty to their Prince was above reproach and without question. To ensure no assassins would try to murder the last royal heir. Neither of the brothers thought that the situation had deteriorated quite that far as of yet. But the longer Harry was down, the higher the risk someone would make a grab for the throne with the idea of starting their own Dynasty.

At this point, anyone wanting to come near Harry was carefully screened and observed before they made it to the door of the private facility where Harry was being kept, and then further monitored by Meloth and his guards while in Harry's vulnerable presence. It was perhaps a bit paranoid, but there were simply too many threats coming from too many different directions for the brothers to shield Harry between only the two of them properly. No matter how capable they were as warriors.

The Council was disjointed as it was currently and largely ineffective in any ruling capacity. The Mages forming their own collective for reasons thus far unknown, and spreading their influence like a strange virus was alarming in and of itself without the other issues already on the table. Their people were frightened and the royal throne sat empty. All of these factors resulted in smaller factions swiftly forming on all sides and arguments escalating. In light of all this, Kiran and Meloth felt such paranoid precautions a bitter but necessary step.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first thing that Harry became aware of was a harsh, unrelenting brightness surrounding him. The second was that the very air around him felt heavy, and thick, pressing against him in a way that reminded him vague of water. Everything around him was painted in various shades of white. A seemingly blank canvas at a casual first glance. There were no sounds that his ears could detect, not even his own breathing. He could feel no physical sensations against his skin. There was no sense of any other living presence near him. There were no visible solid lines or markers anywhere to be seen to give shape to his current odd environment. Lacking these most essential elements, Harry had no way to tell direction, neither up or down, nor sideways. It was all the same anywhere he gazed. There was only the great, wide, nothingness. Simply endless, misty, blurry white.

When Harry looked down at himself, he found a faded washed out version of his former self. It reminded him of the ghosts he'd seen in Hogwarts as a child too much for his own comfort. It was disturbing on a fundamental level. Harry had no sense of his own body's natural weight and rhythms. His chest did not rise and fall, he could not detect a beating pulse in his veins. It would appear that his glamours had faded, because the tattoos on his skin which he kept carefully hidden, stood out starkly against the pale translucent skin of his arm.

Am I dead? He wondered, turning his hand this way and that, finding that he could see through his limb. He gently lowered his hand, and slightly turned his head to glance over his shoulder. With care, Harry opened and arched his beautiful black wings, the emerald green under feathers glimmering with a near metallic sheen of good health and grooming. Strangely for such dark coloring, they were also somehow semi-transparent. It caused Harry to furrow his brow in confusion.

Perhaps I really am a ghost. He mused with a mix of disbelief and curiosity as he flexed each joint in his wings, giving them a thorough inspection and stretch.

How did I die? What happened? Closing and folding his onyx feathered appendages, Harry settled them comfortably on his back and turned his attention to figuring out what had happened.

Harry raised his head, looking around carefully, hoping to find something that would answer his questions. His thoughts were muddled and unclear. Bits and pieces of scrambled memory were flashing through his mind but holding little relevance to his current situation.

It took some time, but eventually, his memories fully reconstructed themselves back together and the puzzle pieces slotted back into place. He mentally floundered at first, struggling to sort out which memories were past and which ones were the most present. But ultimately, in the end, everything crept back into their lawful order within the haze of his mind. Harry thoughts began to clear and sharpen. With them, the endless, shapeless, white landscape around him began to shift into something a little more than it had been before.

While Harry had been distracted by sorting out his own head, opalescent colors splashed haphazardly in a swirl of activity in the great White around him. The very atmosphere began to flow, warp, and mold into rough undefined shapes. However, these new anomalies never fully took solid form, falling apart nearly as quickly as they were constructed. For a while, Harry simply watched, fascinated and simply appreciating their uncanny beauty.

A growing sense of familiarity began to wash over him, gently at first, but the feelings grew more strongly the longer Harry watched the light show before his eyes. The Valkyrie was unsure how this could be, as he couldn't recall having ever been here before. It vaguely resembled the place he'd gone when he died, before the start of his new life with the Valkyrie. However, where this place was warmth, color, and harsh light, that first place from so long ago had been darkness, empty and cold. Their only shared similarity was the vast emptiness.

*Harry...*

The voice was a soft hiss, raspy with strain, as though the words had stretched over a large distance to reach him. They were barely a breath tickling against the shell of his ear. The former wizard looked around but could not see the one who had spoken to him. Or anything that could be pinpointed as the source of the voice he'd heard. It took him several long seconds to place the familiarity of the voice. It sounded like Death. From a long distance away.

The colors around him shifted violently in response to the small intrusion of sound. Temptingly hypnotic in their disturbed motions. Easily, they pulled Harry back into watching their dance in a near trance-like state without his notice. Dimly, Harry decided he must have imagined the faint whisper. It was only his mind making things up to keep itself from going crazy from lack of stimulation. There wasn't anything, or anyone here but himself and these lights. Watching their happy caper, Harry let himself be lulled into a sense of peace and contentment. His sense of urgency faded, and his mind slowed into a mellow buzz.

With his memories now available to him, Harry vaguely remembered stepping through the Black Gate on his return home. He remembered pain, and then, nothing until he'd opened his eyes to this place.

Why did I want to leave? As far as places to spend eternity, this isn't half bad.

*Harry. Wake up.* Harry blinked a few times rapidly in startlement, disturbed from his daze. He shook his head as though to shake off the heavy lethargy that had settled into him.

"Hello?" He called out, looking wildly around. His own voice sounded strangely muffled, as though he were attempting to speak underwater. It didn't seem to carry very far in the heavy air. Death didn't reply to his response. Frowning, Harry tried to make himself move forwards, finding the task surprisingly easy in spite of his lack of corporal form. In vain, he searched for the source of the voice that had twice now, spoken to him.

Alas, there was nothing to find in the vast field of emptiness. For a long time, there was only silence. He called out to Death several more times but was there a no reply. Eventually, he fell silent once again and turned his attention to trying to find some way out again. For all his searching, he learned nothing on how to escape but did learn a few other things.

Aside from not having a solid form or body, Harry found that he never needed to rest, or eat. It would seem that he did not feel physical tiredness, nor hunger in this place. He could feel boredom, and irritation, and a growing sense of being trapped. He came to the realization that if he was not, in fact, dead, then this place had to be some form of powerful magic because Harry couldn't think of any other way such a place, or himself, could exist in such a state. It would be easy to start hallucinating, to completely lose his bearings and eventually, his sanity.

Harry repeatedly told himself that he would have to keep a sharp mind about him until he could figure out a way to escape wherever this place was that he found himself to be imprisoned. With this held firmly in mind, he forced himself to look away from the kaleidoscope of multicolored motion continually. Unfortunately, there was no true way of escaping them unless he shut his eyes and hid behind the darkness of his eyelids. At some point, he found himself swept up once more in their grasp and unwilling to turn away.

Just when he'd nearly forgotten about the voice, as Harry lost himself in the hypnotizing eddies of opalescent color out of sheer boredom, it came again. Hissing into his ears sharply, causing a shiver to race through him as he was jolted back into conscious thought.

*Harry, child. Open your eyes. You need to wake up, now.*

Frustrated, and angry with both the elusive Death and with himself for getting lost in the swirling colors again, Harry let slip an aggressive growl. He shouted back as loudly as his stunted voice would permit, waving a tightly clenched fist at the vast nothingness, lips pulled back to flash his pointed canine teeth in a snarl.

"I'm not bloody sleeping you crackbrained twat! Where the ruddy hell, am I? For that matter, where are you? How did I get here?"

Typical of the pattern Harry had experienced thus far. There was no immediate response to his verbal attack. Leaving Harry stewing in his own roiling emotions. He glared at the drifting colored shapes and moodily wished he could hex them to relieve some of his built up anger.

Harry blinked at the idle thought, then slapped a hand harshly over his face with a disgusted groan at his complete and utter dull-wittedness. He'd tried everything so far, except using his magic.

"Harry, you are a bleeding idiot!" He grumbled to himself, dragging the hand down his face and slapping it roughly against his thigh with a sigh. "Merlin's ratty gray beard, why the hell didn't I think of this earlier? What the hell is wrong with me?"

*Child, you must rouse yourself soon. I am unable to do it for you. This cannot go on much longer, or you will lose everything you hold dear. Wake up!*

Harry waved a hand dismissively at the void in response to the increasingly annoying speaker. "Yeah, yeah. I got it. Could have said something other than 'wake up; but you know, that might actually have been helpful. Useless tosser."

Harry clapped his hands together and rolled his shoulders as he internally debated what to attempt first. He had no illusions that his first try at tackling this problem was unlikely going to succeed. As such, he turned over a couple of ideas to play with first and see what resulted. He took a deep unneeded breath, then slowly let it out. Harry closed his eyes and settled his mind and what represented his body on this plane. After a few moments of calming and centering himself, Harry reached out for his magical core.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was after sunset when Kiran showed up for his portion of the vigil over Harry, already exhausted from seemingly endless Council meetings and several days worth of poor sleep. The guards had just had their rotation not even half an hour ago, and Meloth had already said his sleepy goodbyes to his brother before heading out to catch a few hours of sleep. This left Kiran alone in the silence and near darkness with only the soft beeping of the monitors as his company. He stood at the end of the bed and gazed solemnly at the too thin form of his Prince with tired eyes.

With a heavy heart, he took in the small details and changes since the last time he had been able to pull a watch. Harry had lost so much weight. A result of the backlash from his magical struggle to hold the Black Gate open to transport their people to their new home. His cheekbones had become even more pronounced in Kiran's absence. The dark bruising under Harry's eyes seemed to have gotten darker. He was clean and well cared for. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, and the IV attached to the inside of his tattooed arm had recently been changed.

Overall there was little Kiran could do for his friend. Slowly he forced himself to move over to Harry's side, and took the seat that he was sure Meloth had spent most of the afternoon in. He reached out to take Harry's cold l hand into his own. With a resigned sigh, he began speaking. He didn't know if Harry could hear his words, wherever he was, but it made the older Valkyrie feel better nevertheless.

"They are going to move you in the morning, Harry. You're going home, to your mother. There isn't anything more that the Healers, the Doctors, or the Mages can do to help you recover. It's been several months now since you...well, since you collapsed."

Absently, Kiran rubbed his thumb over the back of Harry's hand.

"I've already spoken to Alice, and explained everything to her about your situation. I thought she was going to kill me, you know? Alice is a mean woman when riled." Kiran shook his head a with an amused smile, both frightened and intrigued by the fierce human woman.

"I don't envy you having to deal with her when you finally wake up. She is most displeased with your actions over the last few years. Did you know that she knew your mother personally? I sure as hell didn't. They weren't very close friends, but apparently, she knew that your mother struggled after the death of your father. She knew that there was a small child at home. I think she met you once, before she and Jasper adopted you when you were a child . I doubt you would remember. I have always wondered why they, in particular, were chosen."

Kiran reached over to smooth some of Harry's dark hair out of his face and tuck the blankets more firmly around the thin body.

"Alice knows more about our people than she's ever let on, my Prince. Of course, I was aware that she knew what you were. That her adopted son wasn't a human child. Did you know that Harry? Did anyone ever tell you in the upheaval of your mother's death? She thought you knew. She's very hurt that you've hidden so much from her."

The steady beeping of the machines was the only response Kiran earned to his questions. Kiran watched Harry's face, searching, hoping for any small movement. There was none. Humming softly under his breath, Kiran tiredly dropped his head onto his arm, voice muffled.

"Well, now that she is aware of the Golem, she insisted on having you moved to the United States and into her new home in Connecticut. I think it would be safer for you there, so I agreed. There is too much going on here for me to feel confident that no one will poison you, or knife you in the dark. Everyone seems to have lost their minds with you temporarily out of the picture. I've already kept you up to date on everything I already know is going on with the Council, the Mages, and the refugees. Things are only getting worse. Putting an ocean between you, and any, would be assassins might be our only saving grace at this point."

For a while, Kiran didn't speak again, lost in his own thoughts concerning the current political situation. After a bit, he firmly pushed his worries aside for the time being. There wasn't anything more he could do about it in what remained of this night. He raised his head and gazed out of the window across the way, surprised when he realized just how much time had passed.

The late June strawberry Moon was full, bright and pink, hanging heavy in the nighttime sky, indicating that it had been up for some time now. The stars were out in full sparkle, taking complete advantage of the clear dark sky to show off. It wouldn't be much longer before the staff came into the room to begin carefully getting Harry ready for the plane ride and moving to his new location. It had been decided that moving him at night would be safest. Reflexively, Kiran tightened his hand around the limp one in his grasp. His voice was a soft forlorn plea.

"Wake soon, Harry. We need you, desperately. I'm afraid what will happen if you don't."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The gentle twittering of a nearby songbird is what initially causes him to wake. For a long while, Harry kept his eyes closed, listening to the world as he drifted between slumber and consciousness. He could hear the soft hums and beeps of machines in near vicinity. He heard the rustling of the trees as the breeze blew through their leaves and branches. He heard more birds in the distance calling back and forth to one another. Under all of the nearby noise, he could faintly hear in the distance the consistent rhythmic sound of water. For a few minutes, Harry simply reveled in these sounds and the sensations they invoked within him.

Slowly, greenish silver eyes groggily cracked open from under sooty colored eyelashes and sleepily blinked in the morning sunlight. Weak fingers subconsciously gripped the blanket in his hand as Harry's eyes squinted until they'd made the adjustment to the level of light in the room. Now a little more awake, he immediately began to take stock of himself and his visual surroundings. His glamours, obviously, were down, the black runes stood out starkly against the pale skin of his arms for all to see. Harry could clearly feel the soft feathers of his wings cushioning his back against the bed. His body felt shockingly heavy, limbs a little stiff. Most likely from lack of movement during the night. His left arm itched where the IV was attached to him. He was thirsty and decidedly famished. Deciding that he was in fair shape considering his situation, Harry turned his attention to the room in which he found himself.

The ceiling was a simple creamy white, with dark wooden beams stretching across it. The room's mostly blank walls were painted a pale soft yellow, with carefully placed white molding and dark wood accents. Furniture was all the same dark wood that closely matched the beams on the ceiling. He was lying in bed covered in a dark blue blanket which was tucked securely around his form, with his arms resting comfortably over his stomach. The space was warm, inviting and bright with sunlight streaming in through the sheer curtains from the window. Beyond the glass, Harry could make out the smudged bright colors of trees decorated in their Autumn foliage.

These observations caused a bewildered frown to twist his lips. He didn't recognize any of it. The room was not familiar, and the season beyond the window indicated that he'd been asleep much longer than he'd originally guessed. Harry could have sworn that Kiran, Meloth and himself had stepped through the Black Gate to return home in what should have been just the bare beginnings of spring. Here it was, Fall once again. What had felt like days, or perhaps only a couple of weeks, seemed instead, to have been months.

The lapse in time creates a rising surge of dismay to take hold of him. Ignoring the protests of his body, Harry tried to push himself into a sitting position, but only managed to get himself partway up. After a couple of tries, he gave up for the moment, realizing with reluctance, that his weakened state was just not going to permit him to do as he wanted. He needed help.

"Hello?" Harry croaked, barely above a whisper. Clearing his parched throat with a small wince of pain at the action, he tried again.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called louder, managing a moderate volume the second time. A distant thump and the scraping of what sounded like a chair informed Harry that someone had heard him. The swift patter of light-weight footsteps scrambled towards his closed door. Which was flung open with enough force to smash the wall behind it. Within seconds, his mother appeared, standing goggle-eyed in the doorway for just a heartbeat. Alice looked disheveled, and only half dressed, her robe belted tightly about her waist, hair still mussed from sleep. The woman let out an inarticulate cry and launched herself at the bed. His breath escaped him in a strained 'Oomph' under her sudden weight.

Harry barely managed to keep himself up. Her arms clamped like steel bands around Harry's trembling form, neatly scooping through the feathered wings like this wasn't the first time she'd held him like this. As much as the action shocked the hell out of him, Harry couldn't find it within himself to protest being squeezed so firmly. Instead, he forced his reluctant and uncooperative body to obey him. He lifted his free arm enough to wrap it, shaking, around his sniffling mother. Gently he patted her back in an attempt to soothe her as she whimpered his name over and over into his shoulder. It was now very much apparent that Alice had no care for the fact her son was sporting a very large set of bird-like appendages. From the moment she had entered the room she hadn't even given them a glance before nearly strangling Harry in her emotional state.

It was now very clear to him that somewhere along the way, Harry had been switched out by his people for the Golem he'd left in his place while away in space. Even if this house was not a place he recognized, Harry knew by his mother's presence that he was safe. He was relieved that this task at least, seemed to have gone correctly, even if things had not happened exactly as he had intended for them to on his return to earth.

"It's alright, Mum. I'm awake. It's okay." Harry murmured softly, blinking back tears in his own eyes at the relief and love in her voice. Alice didn't seem to hear him and just kept muttering tearfully under her breath as she clutched at him, as though Harry would disappear if she didn't hold on tight enough. It almost broke his heart to see her like this, because of him. Alice had always been a strong, proud woman, and he had done this to her, his actions had reduced her to this state. Harry had missed both of his adoptive parents something awful in his time away. Before he'd left, Harry had been resolved in protecting both of his parents from the trials his daily life dealing with the other Valkyrie consisted of. In the years away, he had lost his father, and any chance of spending more time with him. Now he wondered if any of it had been worth it in the end.

As he held her close, Harry noticed the many small changes since the last time he'd laid eyes on her. His mother had lost weight and was thinner, but still apparently strong, if the grip on him was any indication. Her usually bright eyes had looked tired and sad. Evidence of long nights with poor rest for some time now. There were gray streaks in her hair, when before there had been none. With a sinking heart, Harry realized the full physical toll his secrets and deceptions had taken upon his mother. She had aged. More so than normal.

This can't continue. Harry decided firmly. Once I'm back on my feet, I'll have to talk with her about what's been going on. Then find some way to protect her.

After some time had passed, Alice pulled away from Harry and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sleep robe. Harry, unable to hold himself up any longer, laid back down on the bed. His muscles loudly protested each movement along the way. He kept silent as he waited for his mother to gather her composure, a small fond smile playing over his lips as he watched her.

Finally, Alice took a deep calming breath, letting it out slowly before fixing her stern gaze on her son. Harry blinked in startlement, easily recognizing the look in her eyes and the tight expression around her lips from his childhood. He was in seriously deep trouble. As in, he should get started on digging his own grave sort of problem. Harry could honestly say he didn't blame her.

"Young man," Alice began in a low voice of unrelenting steel. "While I am grateful to whatever god, demon or miracle that brought you back to me in mostly one piece, you have a gigantic mountain of explanations to give."

Harry winced and dropped his eyes guiltily down to the dark blue blanket covering him. There were very few people that could make Harry feel like a naughty little boy nowadays. He'd gotten used to people just obeying without much fuss, and not taking him to task for some of his questionable decisions. He mumbled just loud enough for Alice to hear his reluctant words, hoping she would overlook his attempt at being somewhat evasive. "It would seem that you already know something."

Alice snorted inelegantly, making Harry wince once again, but kept his eyes fixed on the blue comforter. His well-bred mother just did not make noises like that unless she was very, very upset. From the corner of his wary eye, Harry watched as she primly folded her hands on her lap and fixed a deep frown upon her troublesome child.

"The only reason that I know anything at all is because your Mr. Kiran was very informative on a great many things you've been holding back all these years. He's a nice man, by the way, your Mr. Kiran." She paused only long enough to take a breath before continuing.

"Now, keep in mind, he broke your confidence only because you had truly fallen ill, and your guard was looking for somewhere safe to hide you. Otherwise, I would not have been informed of anything at all!" She glared at him intently as she sniffed in anger. Harry opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn't quite sure what words were going to fall out. However, she cut him frostily off, and his mouth shut with a soft click of his teeth.

"Apparently, merry olde England is no longer a place where you could be kept, your Highness, while you recovered." Harry winced as the verbal jab, but she just kept going. "Kiran thought it would be prudent to put the entire Atlantic Ocean between yourself and whoever it is he believes to be a danger to you."

Her eyes narrowed as she continued to glare at him, showing her utmost displeasure. "That's not even getting started on your journey into space, for roughly two years . Leaving me here to grieve with your near lifeless clone ."

With a soft groan, Harry covered his face with his hands, rubbing them over his face in both frustration and dismay. "I'm sorry, Mum. I can't say enough how sorry I am. Everything was fine and going smoothly until I tried to come back. Then everything went completely barmy . I swear the Golem was only supposed to be temporary! You were never supposed to know."

"You are completely missing my entire point, Harry! You shouldn't have used the bloody Golem at all!" Alice snapped sharply, unable to rein back her anger with the whole situation any longer. Her knuckles were turning white as her grip on her own hand tightened. Her tirade was only just beginning now that she had a direction for her pent up emotions after so many years of heartbreak and helplessness.

"What in the world possessed you, Harry? How could you have thought this was an acceptable thing to do? The idea shouldn't have even entered your head! You should have come and spoken to me!" Unable to help herself, Alice waved her hands in agitation, her voice rising as she continued. Hurt and lingering fear swelled in her chest, leaving her short of breath, getting the better of her as she choked out her words.

"Do you have any concept of the hell your father and I went through trying to bring you back to us, Harry? We thought we'd lost you forever! And it wasn't even you! It - it was some...some... soulless meat bag ! Why? Why did you do this to us?! What have we ever done to make you think that you couldn't come to us? That you had to hide ?"

Harry flinched at the mention of his deceased father. It was truly a sore spot on his heart, even though he'd known of it for a while now. Despite his better sense, adrenaline and anger flooded his system, fed by a deepening his sense of guilt. With this powering him, Harry was able to push himself up into a sitting position as he verbally lashed back at her. "Oh yea, because that would have gone over so well!" Harry growled back sarcastically. His tone turning high and mocking. His wings began to fluff with agitation. "Mum, Dad, I'm not your precious human little boy, I'm actually some alien freak from outer space! Specifically the Gemini star system! Oh, and also? There are thousands more of us all over the planet!"

Alice drew back as though he'd struck her. In all their years together as a family, she'd never seen Harry snap at her like this. He might grumble or growl on occasion, but he'd never shouted at her so aggressively. Not even when he was a teenager. He'd always been very in control of himself. His words hurt her heart, and she attempted to interrupt him, but Harry just spoke right over her.

"Because that would have any positive outcome at all! Besides all that bullshit, I didn't want you or Dad getting caught up in my mess! It's insane enough as it is without my having to worry about both of your involvement in that level of crazy." Harry hollered back defensively with his own flailing of frustrated hands, causing his voice to break, making him descend into a short coughing fit.

Alice inhaled sharply, causing Harry to peek up at the noise. Giving her a questioning look. His mother was pale and trembling again. He frowned at her, reaching out to take her shaking hand. Harry forced himself to sit up as straight as he could. Her reaction to his words left him convinced he'd hurt her even further with his callousness by blurting out the truth so bluntly. "Mum?"

Alice squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt, but he didn't protest. She cleared her throat, looking like she was about to start crying again. She barely held herself back. She looked down and away from him, unable to meet his gaze.

"Mum? What is it?" Harry asked again, with more alarm infused in his tone. Alice didn't answer, just shook her head and closed her eyes briefly, as though in deep pain.

Harry's shoulders slumped. He felt terrible for losing his temper and shouting at her, especially when he knew he was the one in the wrong. He softened his voice as he apologized again. At a loss on what else to do. "I'm really sorry, okay? I just wanted you guys to be safe. I wasn't sure if I could protect the two of you if you were involved in Valkyrie matters."

"Harry...baby…" Alice interrupted, before he continued with his self-incriminations. Tentatively, she reached up to wipe the tears from her face, unable to stop them as they spilled over from her eyes. She seemed to need to steel herself before she spoke again, and so Harry waited until she was ready. The words, when they came, were a devastating blow.

"First of all. You are not a 'freak.' And you might be an alien, but you're still my baby. If you had spoken with your fa-" She stumbled over the word, her voice breaking before she cleared her throat and continued on, aware of Harry's intense eyes on her. "If you had spoken with me and your father, we could have told you that we already knew of your heritage. I was introduced to your mother before you were born, and we got along well. She was even invited to our wedding. You were too young for her to join us for the event but...Harry you weren't adopted by us because of chance. We...we thought you knew that. I couldn't understand why you wouldn't talk to us before, when you were younger. I..I thought it was the trauma of your mother's death, and none of the others came around, so I...I just let it go. You were so happy. I didn't want to ruin that. I didn't realize that you felt like you had to hide from us."

Harry felt himself deflate. All of his anger washed right out of him, replaced by surprise and bafflement. "O-oh." He murmured softly, at a loss as to what to say in return to this new information. He watched his mother wipe away a few more tears in silence, just absorbing how so much of his life could have been different if anyone had bothered to tell him that his new family knew about the Valkyrie. If he'd mustered up the courage to be more open with his adopted parents. It would have changed so many of his plans over the years.

Alice gently tugged on Harry's hand, regathering his attention. "I'm sorry, but...that's not all sweetheart." Her eyes glittered with more barely suppressed tears. His heart lurched in his chest.

There was more. Of course, there was. When had his luck been any different?

Harry squeezed her hand in return and gave a gentle nod to encourage her to speak. Taking a deep breath, she finally started to press out the horrible words from between trembling lips.

"Your father...the...the reason he isn't here...he..." Alice shook her head at herself and forced it out in a final rush of exhaling breath. Harry felt his heart sink down to his toes as he suddenly realized what it was that had her so upset. His father's death. Alice had no way of knowing that Tony had already informed him of the tragic event. Even if his mate had done it in his own lousy way. The words, when they come, are no less wounding. They still stab him deep in the heart as they fall from his mother's trembling lips.

"Baby, your father passed away."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few days were a whirlwind study in chaotic movement and function. There was so much going on that it made Harry's head spin just trying to assimilate it all. He didn't have time to think overly much on his own personal issues during daylight hours. Thus preventing Harry from immediately slipping into guilt and depression at his perceived failings both as a son, and as a leader to his people. Between the carefully chosen Doctors, Healers and Mages brought in by Kiran to look him over now that he was back in the land of the conscious living, Harry hardly had a moment to breathe, let alone have any privacy to properly brood.

Harry's nights, once the hustle and bustle of the day was over, and everyone had gone home, his mother to bed, were a whole other story. There were long hours of darkness and silence in which his thoughts were his own, with no distractions. It was at that time, that Harry thought of his late father, and wept his own grieving tears. Until now, Harry had not permitted himself to really think about the man's passing, nor had he allowed himself to grieve. There had been too much that needed his immediate attention, and he had ruthlessly pushed his own personal pain to the back burner and focused on the immediate tasks laid out in front of him at the time. Now though. There was nothing stopping his mind from pulling that pain out from the dark corner in which he'd shoved it. It would not be ignored any more. For all his outward appearances, Harry wasn't unaffected by his father's passing on. He very much was. He carried deep regret and guilt. His heart was wounded, and would always carry scars caused by his own choices. He would never get that lost time back with his father. Jasper had passed away thinking his only son was lost to him. That Harry would never wake up. Alice hadn't said anything, but Harry got the distinct impression that this wasn't something that she could forgive him for, just yet, if ever. Truthfully, Harry didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself.

The result of all this was fairly straight forward. He needed to physically recover from the prolonged period of inactivity and did so at the steady pace. But he was emotionally closed off. He didn't let himself heal. Instead, he kept picking at the wound, punishing himself for his lack of consideration and foresight. Harry was otherwise a healthy young man. His magic was on the mend, and while still weak at the current time, was recovering at a noticeably faster rate now that he was conscious. Harry was strongly advised by the Mages overseeing him to use small amounts of magic and rest his depleted core frequently.

His mother during this time stuck to him like glue, leaving his side only when sleep forced her too and Harry indulged her need without complaint. He recalled very well from his previous life how it felt to have a loved one thought to be gone from your side forever, be unexpectedly returned. It took a while to fully believe that the individual wouldn't disappear as soon as you let them out of your sight. With this in mind, Harry only smiled at her, held her, spoke with her on whatever she wished, and kept his Valkyrie worries to himself for the time being. There would be time enough when the he was fully mobile, to fret over things he could not at this moment do anything about. As it was, Kiran refused to sit down and plot with him at this point, stating that Harry needed this time to get back on his feet, not work himself back into a coma.

That is not to say that Harry didn't have chance to mull things over in his own mind in between bursts of frantic activity to try and mentally work out the problems the Valkyrie were having in his absence. There were long stretches of time that, while he wasn't alone, a comfortable silence would settle between himself and his mother as she sat in his recovery room with him. She took this quiet time to do some reading, or paperwork during. Harry would never admit it, but he was grateful for this time of rest, after the flurry of visitors he found himself more tired than he liked. Especially, after his Physical Therapist came to work with him. He swore it was just an excuse for legalized torture, and the woman was a full-blown sadist, but every day Harry could tell his body was becoming stronger.

During this resting period, when he wasn't sleeping, or emotionally torturing himself with his mistakes, Harry was catching himself up on the news and major events he had missed since leaving earth. Harry knew, from speaking to Kiran, that the Lotus program was safely planet side, and was simply waiting for Harry to decide where to download her. For the moment, he'd chosen to hold off. It was enough that his electronic friend was safe for now. Unfortunately, Lotus was near the bottom of a long list of issues he needed to educate himself on and deal with.

Jarvis was a major help in this endeavor.

Harry still couldn't get over the appearance of Tony's AI into his life. He'd forgotten that Tony had mention that he had installed the system in the house to watch over his magical golem. It tickled Harry's funny bone to no end now that he was home to enjoy the spectacle that was his mother trying to maneuver around having the AI in her home. He wasn't stupid enough to breath a word about it, or dare to snicker in his mother's presence, however. He didn't want something nasty ending up in his tea after all. Alice had uncomfortably told him that in the short days after the events that had taken place in Manhattan, New York, the entity had decided to make direct contact with her. In this, he revealed his long held silent presence within the Sinclair house, which Alice was initially less than pleased about. Once Jarvis had explained the reasoning for his placement, she still wasn't thrilled, but could understand Tony's need to keep a close eye on Harry's Golem. Since at the time no one had known it wasn't truly Harry at all.

Alice had seemed somewhat baffled at Harry's overall lack of shocked or disturbed response to Tony's visits during the time before Loki's invasion. Harry had simply shrugged it off, stating that he wasn't overly surprised that Tony would do something like that. It wasn't outside of his character to do a complete one-eighty in his actions or thought processes. Harry told her that he'd halfway expected Tony to make a reappearance in his life at some point. Alice had looked skeptical, but let the matter go with just a shake of her head.

While bizarre, Jarvis' nature didn't phase Harry much after spending so long with Lotus sharing space within his head. Alice, on the other hand, still startled now and then when Jarvis spoke, but otherwise seemed accepting of the new addition. Harry, however, was much more concerned with the information that Jarvis imparted to him after his explanation for being in the house. Alice was already well aware, having been informed months ago of Tony's state of mind.

Just now, Alice had gone to her own room to sleep for the night, and Harry was sitting up in bed, looking through the articles Jarvis had sent to him to scan through on his laptop while they discussed their mutual concern.

Tony was not well. Jarvis had divulged his issues with past symptoms of PTSD after the events of Afghanistan, saying that they seemed to have returned even more strongly after the battle in New York. What's more, Jarvis suspected that Loki's scepter had done something to Tony's memory. Though the AI was unable to figure out how, or why the majority of the loss was directly related to Harry. There were other random and small bits of information that didn't seem to have any direct correlation and Jarvis had concluded these were just collateral damage with the removal of all things 'Harry' from Tony's memories.

It was only by Jarvis' suggestion and both the AI's and his mother's insistence, that Harry did not contact Tony as soon as he was physically able to do so. As there was no phone in his room and Jarvis had made sure Harry couldn't reach Tony electronically, Harry was for the moment, forced to obey until he was physically strong enough to make the journey to New York to see Tony himself. Or at least make it downstairs to the nearest phone. Alice had made it a point to make sure any incoming Valkyrie were phone less before entering the room. It took some time, but eventually, Jarvis managed to convince Harry that he needed to wait until Tony was in a more healthy place in his recovery before attempting to make contact. The AI was convinced that Harry would shock Tony into some sort of fit, and after viewing a few recordings of Tony's panic attacks, Harry was reluctantly forced to agree. For now.

The Valkyrie Prince was unable to give an answer as to why Tony was missing memories, and was therefore, not any more help than the next person in solving the mystery. He'd yet to cast any sort of magic on Tony, though it sounded like the magical precautions often put into place on non-Valkyrie mates. Harry made sure to mention it to Jarvis. "The effects sound similar to the protections spells used by my kind to mask our presence from outside threats. All mated pairs are placed under such bindings. In the past, our enemies would use mates against one another. These spells are supposed to help defuse this. Neither can betray the other, or their own kind, if they cannot remember anything. The spells are supposed to shield the mind from outside influence and bury any information deeply in the subconscious in the case of mental or magical attacks. I don't think the memories are truly lost. I think they are just beyond his access at this time. Though it should not have lasted nearly this long. What I also find very troubling is that I have not cast any such spells on Tony. So unless another Valkyrie has done this without informing me, I don't see how it would be spell related." Harry mused aloud, knowing that AI could hear him just fine.

He was proven correct when Jarvis used the speakers on the laptop to also respond to him verbally rather than in text format. "That assessment seems to be the most accurate theory so far. Sir has been regaining things slowly with the passing weeks and months since the encounter with Loki. I have been very carefully placing reminders and triggers around him in hopes of speeding the process. It seems to be working, though as of yet, I cannot say your name, or show him your images without severe repercussions. At this point in time, he does recall you as a nameless childhood companion whom he was closer to in college. He has begun asking me questions about exactly how close the two of you were. I believe that he suspects that there is more he is missing, but as if yet, Mr. Stark does not fully recall how deep your relations were. I do believe it won't last much longer." Jarvis reassured confidently.

A sudden voice speaking up from the darkened corner of the room had Harry's heart nearly leaping out of his chest in fright as his whole body jolted in startlement. "The spells were placed there by me, though they currently have no anchor. You will have to tie them to yourself when you meet again, my child."

"Merlin's saggy nuts, Death! Are you trying to kill me again? Quite creeping around like that when you want to talk to me!" Harry snapped, taking deep breaths to try and slowly down his racing heartbeat. He glared at the being as she stepped forward into the lamplight by the bed. She was still inhumanly bony, with lank black hair and equally black eyes. Her delighted smile was full of too sharp teeth.

"Sir," Jarvis intoned with audible caution. "I do not recognize this person, nor do I know how they entered your room without my knowing they were to arrive. The biometric readings for this person indicate that they are not human. Should I - "

Harry waved his free hand. "No. It's alright Jarvis. I know her. She's a friend. Even if her sense of humor completely sucks."

Death grinned nastily at him. "I do enjoy terrifying people."

Harry snorted. "You have some seriously sick pastimes. Like being Death isn't frightening enough all on its own."

Death shrugged her bony shoulders. "I've lived a very long time Harry. You learn to take amusement where you can find it. You'll learn that yourself soon enough, I'm sure."

"Whatever. You said you placed the spells on Tony?" He gestured for her to sit on the bed.

Gingerly, with a disturbing creak of bones, Death lowered herself onto the blanket near him and made herself comfortable. "Yes, some time ago in fact, just as a precaution. I'm glad now that I gave into that bit of paranoia, else you and your people would have been revealed to Loki and his allies. The scepter does not only control the victim like a marionette, Harry. It reads the mind of the individual and sends the information back to those who created it in the first place. You do not want those beings knowing of your existence if you can prevent it. Not now at any rate."

"I suppose I'm grateful then. Thank you for protecting him, even if the side effects are less than desired." Harry murmured.

Death waved him off with an emaciated hand. "Think nothing of it. I promised you that I would watch over your mate while you were unable to. I was merely fulfilling my vow to you. However, the memory suppression should not still be ongoing."

"Still. Thank you. Things could have been so much worse if he'd been under Loki's control. Do you know what happened with your spellwork? Is he permanently damaged?" He insisted. Harry wanted her to know that he was aware of how serious it was for her to make such a vow to him. But Death seemed disinterested in his thanks, so he let the issue drop without pushing the matter, much more interested in her answers anyhow.

"I have taken a look at him, and no, it is not my spell work. Looking at you know, I am able to take a good guess at what may have caused it."

"Me?" Harry questioned softly, confused.

"Yes. You. The bond between the two of you was barely there, to begin with because of so much time spent apart over the years. You and he were able to strengthen it somehow in your time away." She squinted at him. "I'm unsure of how you did this, since I could only see it on his end. However, since your incident on the return home, the bond appears to be in shambles."

Harry inhaled sharply in alarm, but Death placed a cold hand on his arm to still him. "Fret not little one. It still there, but it is very damaged. Tell me, can you feel him at all anymore?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I couldn't really before either."

"Hmm...Do you perhaps, have an aching in your chest? Somewhere deeper than your bones? Like a void that the cannot be soothed?"

Harry nodded slowly, and Death reached up to pat his cheek gently in an attempt at comfort. "That is a manifestation of your bond my child. It is telling you that something is wrong. With the bond, or your mate. It is not broken, but it is nearly so. I believe that the backlash of your magic being torn and depleted also damaged your bond with him. That it seems to have happened at the same exact moment of Loki's scepter touching your mate..?" Death shrugged. "Only Fate would be able to manage such a precisely timed maneuver."

"That's just…" Harry trailed off, horrified.

Death grinned. "Your typical and unfortunate luck. But chin up darling. He is still yours. His memory will recover in time."

Jarvis excitedly interrupted them anyhow before it could progress any further, and the mention of Loki's allies slipped from Harry's mind. "You are the anomaly that occasionally appears in Mr. Stark's presence! The one that would not show up on my monitors. I could read your energy wavelength however, and you seemed to be benevolent rather than hostile at those times."

Death dropped her gaze to the electronic sitting on Harry's lap. "Yes you silly computer, it was me who saved your irritating human. More than once, truth be told. Stark seems to have a serious lack of self-preservation. Something the both of these young men seem to share."

"What are you? I have never encountered a being such as you." There was a note of intense curiosity in Jarvis' inquiry.

Death straightened her spine pridefully. "I am a God. Death, specifically."

Jarvis made an uncertain noise. "This is, unsettling. It was my understanding that Gods were not real beings. That they were merely the trappings and illusions of various religions created by ancient mankind to explain the natural world events taking place around them."

Death grinned in dark amusement and replied in a clear condescending tone. "Modern humans like to believe that, arrogant creatures that they are. But no, we are very real. You should not be so surprised. You have met Thor. He and the Aesir are lesser Gods. However, as humans became more intelligent as a whole, it became more difficult to deceive them. We were ordered to remove our presence and let the race develop as they would on their own."

Harry hummed under his breath "As interesting as a theological discussion and debate would be. I'm truly not interested at this time. Jarvis, what of the state of Tony's relationship with Pepper Potts with all of this going on?"

Death made a noise of disgust in the background that Harry blatantly ignored.

The AI hesitated for several long moments before speaking again. "I was unaware that you were familiar with Ms. Potts, or her relationship with Mr. Stark."

Harry smiled grimly. "Oh, I'm very familiar with Ms. Pepper Potts. As much as one can be with a person, they want to eviscerate slowly..."

Death chuckled happily and lightly clapped her hands together. "Oh Harry, can I watch?" Again, Harry ignored her.

Jarvis cleared his non-existent throat, the effect tinny over the laptop's speaker. "Well...I would say that Sir believes himself to be completely in love with Ms. Potts at this point. However, in the past, he has indicated that you are very much his preferred, lifetime partner. Mr. Stark was simply waiting until you were well, and available for his time and attention to resume your previous relationship."

"And then Loki interfered, with his epic tantrum." Harry sighed. "I swear Fate has it out for me."

"That would seem to be the gist of it, yes." Jarvis confirmed.

Death reached out a hand to pat the hair on the top of Harry's head, making him scowl at her. "If it makes you feel any better, Harry child. Fate has it out for everyone. She is one grumpy bitch."

"Wonderful," Harry grumbled.

"I would not despair, Mr. Harry. The relationship, such as it is, between Sir and Ms. Potts is swiftly deteriorating without outside interference. Their arguments have grown exponentially since Loki's visit. Ms. Potts has become very insistent that Mr. Stark cease his Ironman activities. Which Sir, so far, has chosen to ignore her requests. She is not very pleased with him. I don't believe it will last much longer. Aside from their disharmony, Ms. Potts is dealing poorly with Tony's PTSD symptoms and has become very pushy about 'the future of their relationship," The AI intoned scornfully. "It's my conclusion that she is attempting to nudge Mr. Stark in the direction of marriage, but he remains adamantly resistant to her attempts."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Good. Let me know if that changes Jarvis. If it does, I might actually have to kill her."

"Very good, Sir." Was The AI's blasé reply.

Harry blinked while Death snickered under her breath. "I get the impression you do not like her very much Jarvis."

"It is not a matter of like or dislike. As an employee of Stark Industries, she is exemplary and a strong asset. As a life partner for Mr. Stark, she is very much lacking. Frankly, Mr. Harry, she is selfish, and somewhat greedily. She has no issue with taking advantage of Sir's giving heart. I find this very unsuitable. One of my priority programs is the care and wellbeing of my creator. She is, and has been for some time now, increasingly antithesis to that programming." Jarvis corrected primly.

Harry laughed. "A very wordy way of saying that she's a bitch unworthy of his time and efforts. You want her gone."

"Affirmative, Mr. Harry."

Harry let out a soft considering hum as he turned his thoughts inward, leaving Death and Jarvis to their own conversation for a few minutes as he traveled very far back into his memories. To the years long before he'd died. To a time when he'd been tied to a woman that held some of the same traits as Pepper Potts.

*** Harry sat on the sofa in his library, staring at the parchment in his hands with unseeing eyes. He'd known for a while now, for certain, that little Lily was not his daughter, but he had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the boys were of his seed. Lily favored her mother in looks, but the boys looked enough like him that Harry had desperately wanted it to be true. Especially Albus, with his green eyes and the same hair and build as Harry had when he was a child.

Alas, the item held in his shaking fingers coldly informed him otherwise. It was one more devastating blow to the wreck and ruin that had become his personal life. He wondered, numbly, if there was something wrong with him. If he was somehow at fault for Ginny choosing to stray outside of their marriage bed to ensure pregnancy. He just couldn't understand her reasoning for this.

Regardless of their biological origins, Harry loved his children without end. They were innocent, and they loved him back just as fiercely. But this broke his heart. It was a wound Harry just couldn't find it within himself to forgive. It shattered all his long held dreams of having a marriage and regard for one another like his parents had shared with each other. Harry was able to silently acknowledge to himself that it was a bit unfair to hold Ginny to those standards, but infidelity was not something he could ever accept.

Surely there had been other options than this? What about adoption?

Something. Anything, other than Ginny betraying him, going behind his back and spreading her legs for unknown strangers. A chill stole over his body, raising the little hairs all over.

What if they weren't strangers? What if it was someone I know? Have they been laughing at me this whole time? What about her family, did they know?

On unsteady feet, Harry pushed himself off of the sofa and folded the parchment into squares. Reluctantly he tucked the dreadful thing into his back pocket. He would need to make arrangements at Gringotts. He would go tomorrow, while the children and his wayward wife were visiting with their grandmother Molly and cousins at the Borrow. It was Friday evening now, if he remembered correctly, it was Victorie's birthday this weekend, and everyone was gathering to celebrate it on Sunday.

Ginny would be leaving shortly with their three children for the slumber party. Which left him home alone to finish his work and join them at some point Saturday for the festivities. Plenty of time for him to complete the tasks he was currently turning over in his mind. Resolved to his decision, Harry kept himself busy until Ginny was well gone, then made his way to Gringotts.

When he arrived, he was promptly escorted to Garnnuk, the goblin that had been handling the Potter Lordship account since before his father had inherited the title. Once short greetings were out of the way, Harry got straight down to business, as the no-nonsense goblins preferred. With Garnnuk regarding him expectantly, Harry reached into his pocket and produced the damning paper from the Private Healer he'd employed to do the testing.

Garnnuk looked over the parchment without expression, then turned his attention back to Harry. "What is it you wish to do Lord Potter?"

Steeling himself, and lifting his chin, Harry forced himself to go through with it.

"I wish to alter my Will."

Garnnuk nodded, unsurprised. "Easily done, for a small fee of course."

"I would not expect anything else, Garnnuk." Harry nodded as calmly as he could, considering his distasteful task here.

"Very well. Let us get started then." The goblin grumbled in his gravelly voice.

From his large, heavy wooden desk, Garnnuk pulled out a thin file, along with a purplish sphere with a smoky center, roughly the size of a baseball. From the same drawer, he pulled out a second sphere, this one clear and uncolored, setting it down next to the purple one. With a single tap of his nail, and something muttered in the guttural language of his people, the clear sphere glowed brightly for a moment before turning grey.

Harry knew from his previous setting of a will, that the gray sphere was now recording his voice, and would be verbal proof of his actions when the will was read.

With the sphere setup, Garnnuk then pulled out the original written version of the Will for reference. From another drawer, he retrieved a fresh sheet of paper and a quill. He then firmly fixed his yellow eyes once again on the Wizard, silent. From the moment the spell was activated on the sphere, only Harry would be speaking. Garnnuk would simply be writing it all down.

Harry cleared his throat. "I, Lord Harry James Potter, of Exeter Lane, in the Wizarding village of Tinsworth, England, am of sound mind, body, and magic, on this day the 24th of March, 2008. I hereby declare this to be my Will. I revoke all previous Wills and testamentary writings made by me. I revoke the spousal rights of my wife. One Ginerva Potter nee Weasley. No changes shall be made to this Will by anyone other than myself.

Upon my death, I hereby revoke all rights, privileges, protections and comforts of the Potter name from one Ginerva Potter nee Weasley. Should she still live. She will receive nothing that which she did not bring with her into our marriage union. Nor will she have access to any of the children's funds at any time.

I have provided irrefutable proof of said spouse's multiple infidelities. As such, she has broken her scared bonding vows, and is firmly stricken from any Potter benefits or inheritance.

None of these children are mine by my blood, bone or magic. However, I lay claim to all three and gather them under the protection of the Potter name. Provisions for my three children will not much change. The Potter fortune will be equally split between James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter, upon each of their majority at the age of 17 years. All monies, investments, properties and heirlooms are to be distributed in equal measure. James Sirius Potter, as the eldest child, will carry the Lordship when I am no longer able to, under the same clause as stated previously concerning Ginevra. Albus Severus Potter, as my second born, will carry the Heir title until such a time as James produces one of his own.

To Teddy Lupin, my ward, and child of my heart. If you have not already claimed your birthright, I bequeath the legacy of the Black Bloodline that I hold in trust, onto you. The Most Ancient and Noble Black fortune is now yours. As my rights to the Black name are limited, I can only request that you refrain from indulging my spouse in any way.

Should my three children disregard my wishes concerning the sharing of the Potter fortune with their mother, they immediately forsake all rights and privileges afforded to them from carrying my Ancient and Noble Name. They shall be Nameless, and House-less, and no one will look upon them with good favor."

Harry closed his eyes as he spoke this next part. With these words, everything would be put into motion. Only he would ever be able to change them back, and he couldn't see himself doing so. "So I have said, So mote it be."

Harry opened his eyes and waited while the goblin scribbled his words down swiftly, then promptly reached over and tapped the sphere again. It was now the same smoky purple as the first one had been. While the original sphere was black and lifeless. It could not be used again, and would be destroyed later by the Goblins.

Once the written Will was finished, Harry signed it with a blood quill and Garnnuk signed his own name and stamped it with an official seal. The old Will was then burned in front of Harry until nothing but ashes remained.

With his business for the day concluded, Harry paid the fine for Garnnuk's work that day and went home. ***

Harry had no idea what Ginny's reaction to the Will had been, or what his children's reaction to the revelations held therein had been. He could only hope that his kids didn't hate him for the actions that he'd felt he'd needed to take. He hoped that they had gone on with their lives in happiness and peace, despite the actions of their mother.

Harry truly couldn't care less what had happened to Ginny after his death. In the end, he had made sure she got nothing of what she had strived for. The Potter fortune was not hers, and she had only her public shame to show for it. Purebloods and Nobles were notorious gossips. It would not take long for word of her actions and subsequent disgrace to get around. But all of that mattered little in the end. He was free of her, and the bonding vows that had tied him to her. That was all he cared about.

Shaking himself from those unpleasant recollections, Harry refocused himself on the conversation still flowing around him. Jarvis and Death were now deep in debate on the creation of the universe with its many alternate dimensions and planes of being and consciousness.

Harry blinked, and promptly decided that he was too tired for something this in depth and cleared his throat to try and politely get their attention. "Ugh, guys? Can you shelve that one? I'm pretty tired."

"Of course, Sir, my apologies for keeping you awake."

Harry made a dismissive noise and yawned. "Don't worry about it, Jarvis. I'm sure you two can pick it up again somewhere that isn't my room. It's not like either of you need to sleep."

"Very true." Death replied, standing up from her seat on the bed and gently taking the laptop from Harry. "Is there somewhere that is convenient for you Jarvis? That is, if you wish to continue our conversation?"

"Of course, Miss. I would enjoy that. Are you able to…"

Harry tuned them out as he settled down into his blankets. A few seconds later the laptop was set down on his nightstand, now turned off. Death then leaned over and brushed Harry's dark hair from his face, pressing her cold lips to his forehead in a kiss as though he were a small child. Harry couldn't find it within himself to care. His eyes were already slipping closed.

"Good night, my child." She murmured softly, and then slipped away into the shadows of the room, using them to travel far and away.


	19. The Promise

**The Promise**

 **A/N:** _There is some overlap here in time with the circleback. Some of this chapter is a little bit before, some of it is during and some of it is after. The snippet of Chapter One is marked so that you will be able to tell what is what. I tried to keep things clear, and hopefully I succeeded. Please pay attention to the Markers!_

 _Happy 4th of July everyone! I'm posting this a day earlier than planned because I'm going to be busy tomorrow. I know you have waited a long time for this and now here it is. Before anyone gets upset, I am saying this now. No, Tony and Harry do not get together this chapter. HOWEVER! Next chapter is a promise. This one is tying up the last few loose strings before my lovebirds are reunited._

 _So don't murder me. This chapter was necessary._

 _Thanks to Gia as always for her wonderful editing work. If any of you readers spot anything, don't feel shy about letting me know! (politely)_

 _ *****(**_ _Indicates a Chapter One time snippet_ _ **)*****_

 **Warnings:** _Mention of PTSD triggers, Alcoholism and alcohol abuse, depression, Tony does not work through issues well,_

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It was a trivial, and extremely petty thing that finally forced Tony back into the Ironman suit once again. He didn't like what it said about his character, or about the current status of the relationship with the woman he cared about, but there it was.

Tony would have liked to say that the final push was because someone, somewhere needed Iron Man's help. But this just wasn't true. Things had been very quiet in the aftermath of the incident in New York. Villains were keeping their heads down low until they could figure out the new world order or something. Honestly, it all suited Tony just fine. Ever since Tony's panic attacks had resumed, he'd discovered an intense dislike of cramped, enclosed spaces. Unfortunately, this also included to tight fit of the heavy metal Ironman suit. Just thinking about it had made his body break out in an anxious sweat, had made him sort of breath, his mind always flashed back into that dark, airless void. He could force himself within a few feet of the powerful creation he loved, but no closer.

Instead of working on his issues with the Ironman suit, Tony chose to distract himself with other tasks until he could figure out a way to approach that particular problem. As there was thankfully, no pressing need for Ironman's colorful presence at the moment, Tony and Jarvis chose to use the down time concentrating on regaining small parts of his missing memories back. So far, forward progress had been slow but steady, and Tony, while highly impatient, was pleased with the overall results.

One of the most major breakthroughs was that Tony was now able to recall Coulson, and deeply regretted not attending the man's funeral. He had made it a point to visit the cemetery where the agent was buried to pay his silent respects. He'd even placed flowers on the grave and apologized quietly to the marble headstone.

All of which, meant little in the face of Pepper's fury and dismay over his refusal to give into her wishes concerning his 'hero complex' and 'Ironman side hobby.' Granted, Tony had never told her about his problems, but Tony felt that this was besides the point. She always became upset when he missed something about herself or her life that he was supposed to pick up on.

 _Shouldn't she have noticed that he was the one struggling? But then, she hadn't noticed when he was dying from the Palladium poisoning either. Another thing that was his fault._

Ironically, it was their escalating arguments that pushed Tony back into the Ironman suit once again.

Pepper, in another one of her increasingly natural tearstained fits, had threatened to pack a few bags and leave the penthouse. Tony had blown the comment off, dismissing the threat as overblown hysterics. Which Pepper was not normally prone to, but lately everything Tony thought he knew about Pepper was being called into question.

She increasingly demanded that he scrap the Ironman projects. She didn't feel safe. She didn't want to lose him. She didn't like the time spent away. She didn't like the negative media attention it brought to them and Stark Industries. She hadn't signed up to be a soldier's partner. The other Avengers were more than qualified to handle the evil in the world; surely they didn't need Tony's help, right? Etcetera and so on and so forth until Tony had completely given up trying to explain or negotiate anything with her at all and stormed out the living room and locked himself in the lab, making sure to revoke her access temporarily. Muting Jarvis, so he didn't have to listen to the AI's increasingly snide remarks about Pepper either.

The bottom line came down to this. No, he would not give up the Ironman suit. Not even for her. Not for anyone. On this, he would not budge.

When Tony emerged several hours later, once again calm and hoping that they could at least get through dinner without screaming at one another, he found that she was gone. She had left the penthouse. Apparently unwilling to converse with him any longer at this time about the Ironman issue. Tony's tentative control on his simmering temper went out the window. Fueled once again by his own rage, mostly at Pepper's hateful and hurtful comments about the Ironman suit, had not thought twice before getting into the suit and flying out over the ocean to blow off some steam. He'd been so angry. There hadn't been room in his head for a panic attack to even begin. Flying had always given Tony a sense of freedom nothing else in his life could. It was this, he sought out in the aftermath of the emotionally devastating argument with Pepper.

As he soared through the air over the Atlantic Ocean hoping to burn through his ugly emotions, Tony decided that he couldn't kid himself any longer. He was currently miserable in his relationship with Pepper. He wasn't able to give up Ironman, regardless of her pleas and demands. Yes, being Ironman did feed his ego and made Tony feel good about himself, that part was accurate. But despite Pepper's nasty barbed insinuations during their fights, it was no longer just about himself. His responsibilities were too numerous for him to just walk away from, both to S.H.I.E.L.D. and to the people that now counted on his protection.

But truthfully, the Ironman issue was just one-half of the problem that had arisen between them.

He'd figured out that the main drive behind most of their fights was Pepper's insistent desire for marriage and family, but Tony wasn't ready. He just wasn't. Everything in him rebelled at the very idea. It had brought home to him some very unsettling truths. He cared deeply for Pepper, but he didn't believe he would ever be ready to marry her. It wasn't something he could offer her, and he feared he would lose her over it. However, Tony was a fighter at heart, and he would do his damnedest to keep her in his life for as long as he could. Pepper was a fighter too; it was one of the things he loved about her. Her fire, passion, and assertiveness. They were still stronger together than they were apart, and Tony felt that in the end, he was a better person for having her in his life.

 _They would resolve this like they had issues in the past. He just needed to hang on._

Resolved to this path, Tony returned home unsurprised to find the penthouse quiet and empty. Pepper had likely left to blow off some steam of her own. He didn't blame her for that. He'd needed time to himself as well after their argument. Undisturbed for the moment by her absence, he put the Ironman suit up, and he headed to bed, exhausted and just wanting to stop thinking for a little while.

It was as he was entering their shared bedroom that Tony received his first nasty shock. The room looked like a whirlwind had exploded in the normally elegant space. At first, Tony thought Pepper had simply thrown a fit like a toddler before she stormed out to cool off. But as he looked closer, he felt a chill steal through his nerves.

Pepper had left clothes all over the place. Tony could see clearly that the closet was mostly empty. Her designer suitcases were gone. Certain items that he knew to be her favorite pieces were missing. Apparently, anything she hadn't chosen to take with her, she had instead tossed all around the room and all over the bed.

For several minutes Tony just stood there in disbelief, unable to reconcile all of this in his mind. A shaky inquiry to Jarvis revealed that Pepper had checked into a hotel across the city, and she was safe but had instructed Jarvis that Tony was to leave her be until she called him. She needed some time to herself.

She hadn't just left for a few hours to cool off before coming home. Returning to Tony. Pepper had simply, _left._ For who knew how long.

With a resigned, soul weary sigh, Tony put the discarded clothing neatly away. He told himself he shouldn't be as shocked as he was. That things between them had gotten tense, and they both needed the space to cool off and calm down before talking again. He mentally reassured himself that a single night away, or several, meant nothing in the long run. They were both stubborn, passionate and assertive people. Arguments like this hadn't been unusual when they had simply been co-workers so why should he assume any different now that they were more than that?

Once the room was straightened up, Tony lay down in the vacant bed and tried to settle himself into slumber, hoping that his nightmares would be minimal this night. Unfortunately, any sort of quality sleep, or peace between himself and Pepper, would be long in coming. This was only the first to come of their trails before the end, though Tony for the moment, was burying himself deeply into denial.

It was three days before Pepper returned home.

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Despite all of Tony's best efforts, Pepper continued to be increasingly cold and distant with him. They were arguing more often than they were having a regular conversation. Neither of them was willing to give ground, and Pepper was not above attempting passive aggressive ways of trying to coax or punish him into doing as she wished alternately. Tony stopped sleeping in the bedroom for a while because she kept locking him out when she was angry. Tony took to sleeping down in the lab. After several short stays at a hotel when the friction got especially horrible between them, Pepper apparently finally reached the limit of her tolerance and permanently moved out of their shared bedroom. She got an apartment outside of the tower, and therefore outside of Tony's or Jarvis' direct influence. She spoke with him less and less unless it had to do with Stark Industries.

Throughout all of this, Tony continued to bury himself in denial. He kept himself busy with his projects. He used the Ironman suit more and more, simply as an excuse to be away from the tower when he could get away with it. Helping and feeling useful allowed Tony, for a short time, to feel good about himself. It was the only positive stimulation in his life at the moment.

His drinking had gotten once more out of control. Tony knew this, and was pointedly ignoring the fact. Nightmares, flashback and anxiety attacks had become common occurrences throughout his day. Tony simply learned to work around them, and isolated himself more. His Teammates were seemingly shunning him for reasons he couldn't as yet fathom, and nothing he did or said was good enough for Pepper at the moment. Reaching out to Rhodey proved fruitless in the end. The man was always busy or unable to be safely reached. Tony was not willing to put his best friend in danger just because Tony was feeling overly emotional and he wanted to bitch about the all the ways his life sucked at the moment.

Tony said nothing. He did nothing. He deflected and distracted, he ignored and buried himself in the problems he could resolve and pretending the ones he could not and did not exist. It was in the middle of this storm when Pepper left for the final time.

Not that Tony noticed at first.

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 _(snippet)_

 _ ***** (**_...he came back from one mission, a simple one that was more time consuming than anything else to find all of her things gone and his penthouse empty. However, he felt nothing when he realized she was gone. He went to his lab to work on the suit and hadn't noticed until weeks later he had not heard from her. No phone calls, notes, or emails, no texts. Not even updates on what was going on with Stark Industries. She simply wasn't there. Even after everything he thought they would still remain friends, Pepper was the one constant in his life.

 _It seems I'm going to have to take the bull by the horns and become CEO of Stark Industries again. Damn you Pepper, I planned on giving you the fucking world._

Tony got rip roaring drunk and trashed the penthouse. _**)*****_

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Initially, after Pepper had left, _and he was certain that she was really gone this time, He'd had Jarvis eventually track her down at her mother's of all places. She'd refused all contact with him,_ Tony kept going over the things that had gone wrong, the fights that had erupted between them again and again in his mind. The memories haunted him day and night, even in his dreams, Tony found no solace. The images just wouldn't leave him alone. Even the apartment Pepper had gotten to stay at when they were sleeping apart was empty of all of her things. Her lease had been broken. She was truly gone this time, leaving no forwarding address.

Pepper's final moving out had broken any shred of Tony's remaining his self-control when it came to his alcoholism. At least when he was drunk, Tony could pass out and most times, have a dreamless sleep. The next day's hangover was soothed with more alcohol in his coffee before he shuffled back down to the lab.

Dealing with the constant snubbing of the other Avengers while all of this was going on, was just the icing on the cake. In the throes of his darker alcohol-fed moods, Tony wondered if any of it was worth it in the end.

Something always held him back from pursuing his black thoughts any further, however, and so Tony kept himself to morose work down in the lab to avoid thinking of anything involving the people currently making his life suck. Tony worked, drank, sorted and cleaned. Anything to keep himself busy and Jarvis from calling someone to interfere where they were not welcome.

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It was in one of these whiskey fueled hazes that Tony found the small box.

It was buried at the bottom of a drawer in the old junk desk he had kept from college along with the ratty couch. The old thing had been shoved in a corner and mostly ignored over the years. It was covered in spare parts, half finished tinkering and junk that was starting to gather dust. He'd decided to rummage through the drawers and clean the old thing out on a bored whim.

The small box Tony held in his hand was an almost flat rectangular shape, and it was apparent that it was made of a mixed metal alloy, carefully handcrafted for whatever purpose. The box itself, while well made, was plain and uninteresting to look at. On the front was a simple but secure hook latch. Even in his drunken state, Tony could easily recognize his own handy work. He could even vaguely remember the hours he'd spent making it just right, and the number of times he'd had to scrap a piece that wasn't up to his standards. Though Tony had forgotten about it being shoved in the desk. Truthfully he couldn't recall why it was there at all, or why he had put so much time and precise effort into making it in the first place.

At first, Tony didn't know what it was about the small box that so thoroughly captured his attention, but seeing the battered thing gave him pause. Something gave him a sense that this unassuming trinket was more important than first glance would suggest, but he could not think of why that would be. For several long seconds, he simply stared at it, his sluggish mind trying to figure it out.

The harder he thought about it, the more his body reacted strangely to its presence. The little hairs on his arms were now standing up as his skin broke out in chilled gooseflesh. His breathing was sharp and shallow in his lungs, feeling like glass shards and he had no logical explanation for the sensation. The alcohol sitting in his stomach suddenly felt sour, heavy and unpleasantly churning. A deep ache spread out from his chest into the rest of his limbs, which were now shaking and felt like lead weights.

But Tony was just drunk enough, just bullheaded enough to purposely ignore his physical being for the moment. He immersed himself in the mental field of his thoughts. Tony tuned out everything around him, including the blasting rock music in the background, as he focused his full attention on the item in his hands.

 _Why was this tiny thing so important? Why couldn't Tony force himself to either open or discard it? It was almost like he was afraid of it. But why would he be? How could such a thing, something he had made with his own hands, be dangerous to himself?_

Tony's hands trembled as his fingers gripped it tight to the point of knuckles whitening, and still, he didn't know why. Taking a deep breath, Tony slowly let it out, and then summoning a burst of courage from somewhere, he unlatched the lock and flicked the lid open.

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It was no dangerous weapon. No miniature bomb. But it may as well have been.

Placed snugly inside to prevent movement, on dark green velvet were two metal bands. Both were platinum-based and edged. The center of each of the bands was an onyx inlay with a golden endless interlinking infinity design around the entire band. His heart lurched sickeningly in his chest, and his felt stomach like it had sunk all the way down to his toes. Tony knew without having to look, that on the inside of each band was engraved a single word.

 _Always._

All the air left Tony's lungs in an explosive rush as he exhaled forcefully. He felt lightheaded, and a little dizzy, from holding a breath hadn't he realized he had been. Something in his chest squeezed painfully tight around his heart, causing it to stutter erratically. Tony's eyes now burned fiercely, and his head began to ache and pound in time with the blood rushing loudly through his veins.

 _He knew these rings. Oh, how he knew these rings._

Tony had them made to very specific specifications when he was seventeen. Fully intending that as soon as both himself and Harry were eighteen, he would ask the other man to marry him. That was before their fight, and the years of separation afterwards. He remembered now. In a fit of heartbreak and rage, he'd thrown them in the back of the desk drawer and ignored them until they were eventually forgotten about.

 _How could I have forgotten about them?_

Staring down at the set, Tony was rapidly flooded with years worth of images, sounds, smells, and sensations. Everything in him yearned greedily for those memories of the precious green eyed man. It was such an intense overload of information that it left Tony reeling and in danger of vomiting.

Tony felt like his brain was going to explode. He lost track of everything around him for several minutes as he struggled to make sense of everything flooding into his head. Everything was a jumbled mess that had no chronological order just yet. But one truth rang out above the paralyzing din currently locked inside his head.

 _I was loved. I was appreciated, and desperately wanted. I was everything to a wonderful someone out there in the big wide world. Pepper was never meant to be my soul-mate. I was never meant to be hers. He's out there somewhere._

When Tony came back to himself, he was clutching the closed box closely to his chest. He was sucking oxygen into his lungs in rough, ragged gulps of air, his whole body was trembling violently, and he became aware of tears dropping onto the floor where he'd half curled around himself.

Despite all this, he was floating in a strange sea of internal calmness. He felt stronger than he had in a long time. He had, somehow in the chaos, regained his footing and was confident that he could weather anything that came next. He knew with bone-deep certainty that everything would be alright now. He had purpose and direction once again.

 _He would find Harry. The man he had loved. Still loved, and had somehow forgotten. How could Tony have ever walked away from the love of his life over something so petty? How had he let Pepper eclipse everything?_

With his body beginning to settle itself down, Tony became aware of the lack of rock music, and Jarvis could be heard urgently calling his name. He wasn't sure how long the AI had been doing so, and so forced his vocal chords into motion to reassure one of the truest friends he'd ever had.

"I'm alright Jay. Just a bit of a shock. I'm okay now. No need to call the cavalry." Tony croaked, not wanting Jarvis to call anyone down to the lab at this hour of the night.

"Sir? Are you sure you feel well? Your heart rate was dangerously high. I don't believe you've ever had a panic attack that severe before." Jarvis mother-henned. It brought a tired smile to Tony's lips as he gathered himself from his knees off the cold floor. After such a jolt to his system, he was definitely mostly sober by now. The joints of his knees groaned in protest and Tony winced. He was going to be feeling those bruises for a long while.

"I'm alright buddy, just...too much to drink, and too many old memories. I'm going to go lay down for a while…" Staggering unsteadily towards the door, Tony pocketed the box, and had Jarvis swiftly shut everything down. "Very good Sir. May I ask, what memories were you referring to?"

Tony grinned as he took the short elevator ride up to the living quarters of the penthouse. "Harry, Jarvis. Harry."

"Ah. Then let me say, welcome back Sir. You've been very much missed."

"Thank you, Jarvis. I think I missed me too." Tony snarked back playfully as he roughly scrubbed his sleeve across his tearstained cheeks.

Once upstairs, Tony looked around the bedroom he had shared with Pepper with new eyes and promptly decided it needed to be redone. Tony didn't want any more reminders in here of her. She had clearly made her decision known by her own actions, and Tony was finally content to let matters between them simply lay as they were. It still hurt to know she had finally left him for good. Tony wasn't going to lie to himself about that. He did care deeply for her, but there was something more out there for him, and probably for her too. Now, Tony thought he could heal. Now, there was Harry, and new beginnings to work towards.

Smiling faintly to himself in spite of everything, Tony made a mental note to hire someone to redecorate the rest of the penthouse while he was at it. Mind busy making plans, Tony absently pulled his clothes off and just dropped them haphazardly on the floor, then simply crawled into bed with just his boxers to sleep in, opening the ring box once again. He lightly caresses them with his fingertips as he let his mind drift over the newly discovered memories.

"Tomorrow, Jarvis..." Tony murmured into the darkness of the room.

"Sir?" Jarvis questioned, just as softly, so as to not disturb Tony's calm demeanor, something that was all too often lacking in recent times.

Tony hummed absently to himself before speaking. "We'll start looking for Harry tomorrow. If I can just fix things with him, Jay. If he and I can get back to where we were when we were in college. I'm never going to be stupid enough to let him go again, old buddy."

The AI was silent, processing the words, and sadly realizing that while Tony did now remember Harry, he was remembering the man in the past tense, not in the present sense. Tony was still missing important pieces, and Jarvis found himself uncertain where the next step in his Creator's healing would go. Instead, he simply replied softly to the darkened room.

"Very well Sir."

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Tony didn't sleep much that night. Come midmorning light; he'd managed to disentangle through a good portion of them. When Tony finally stirred himself from the bed to rise for the day, he made a beeline for the bathroom to use the toilet and shower. While there were no panic attacks, and no flashbacks, he wasn't comfortable. He washed perfunctorily and left, but it was more progress. Knowing that he had Harry back, in a sense, made Tony feel like he could take on anything.

When Tony emerged from the bedroom for his first cup of coffee of the day, he forwent the alcohol spike for the first time in weeks. Instead, he forced himself to eat a toasted onion bagel with cream cheese. Then proceeded to dig out every bottle of booze in his private apartment and dump it down the kitchen sink. He watched thousands of dollars of alcohol spiral down the drain, and felt nothing but elation.

Tony had things to do, and purpose once again. The perpetually drunk version of himself Tony had recently become, was not good enough for Harry. It was time to jump back on that bandwagon and get his priorities in line. It wouldn't be easy clawing and climbing his way back to sobriety from the slump he'd fallen into, but he was resolved to it. Tony had done it once before, he was positive that he could do it again. He didn't kid himself that winning Harry back after all this time and distance between them was going to be easy. But Tony was determined, and getting rid of the alcohol was his first step on that path.

Harry was everything.

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Jarvis was immensely pleased with the steady recovery of the two the men under his watch and care. Both were making forward progress with their separate issues with surprising consistently. Barring something drastic or unexpected, he didn't believe it would be much longer before he could make arrangements for them to make contact with one another once more.

Despite Tony having only partially recovered his superseded memories, the AI remained silent on Harry's current status. Deflecting as much as he could and distracting his Creator with the problems currently going on with Stark Industries. Jarvis casually made mention that cleaning up Pepper's mess would put Tony in a more accomplished light in Harry's eyes, being a businessman himself and Tony had leapt upon the accumulating issues with a startlingly aggressive concentration and determination that Jarvis had never seen Tony employ before in any capacity outside of the Ironman suits. Honestly, he hadn't thought it would work. Tony was notorious for putting off this sort of tedious work in the past. Nevertheless, Jarvis was not going to question the successful ploy and did his best to keep Tony distracted.

Harry needed more time.

The Valkyrie needed to physically and magically recover more, then resolve a increasing pile of issues among his own people before being immersed in any Ironman entanglements.

With Tony even now on his way back to California to handle the problems that Pepper's prolonged absence would stir up within Stark Industries, it was a good time for Harry to tie up his own loose ends. Things within Stark Industries would take up much of Tony's time in the coming weeks.

After everything was settled, Jarvis would arrange for Harry to fly out to meet his long missed partner. It was passed time for the both of them to finally have a bit of happiness together in their lives.

Even so, Jarvis knew he would have to tread carefully.

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Death watched Harry with smug motherly pride, as he verbally ripped into the council members. He was a fierce one, and took none of their waffling nonsense. They'd been here for hours already, with no mercy in sight as Harry went over each issue that had cropped up while he'd been in recovery. The only subject that sat on the table untouched, was that of the new Mage's faction. Harry refused to comment in either the positive or the negative until he had more information on the situation, and plainly stated this to the council members, much to their displeasure. Harry didn't care. He was fed up with the majority of them within the first hour.

Once again, Death was cloaked and hidden from the sight of mortal eyes, even those of her own adopted child. Though he was a godling of her own make, he was still mortal, for now. His power was only just beginning to bud, and would slowly grow over many years. She looked forwards to watching him learn and grow into his new abilities. Until then, he would live his life much as any other mortal being would, and she would take joy in watching that as well, for now.

She was waiting for the meeting to wind down, so that she could speak with Harry privately. It was time that certain things were revealed to him, now that he was back on his feet and his people were solidly on Earth. Already Harry had settled most of the problems concerning their food and living conditions. He had been livid when their state of being was brought to his attention. Her little one had certainly been busy, but then, so had she. Hopefully, with her tasks done for the moment, she would be able to ease his burden with the news she had brought.

The meeting dragged on well into the evening before her Harry called it finished, ignoring the angry grumbles of the council members. She followed him on silent feet as he stormed out of the Council Chambers and down the winding hallway to his private resting rooms. Here, she caught the door before he slammed it behind him, causing him to jerk around defensively as the unmoving door yanked on his arm. Green/silver eyes narrowed as he stepped back warily, letting go of the door handle.

"Show yourself!" Harry growled, in no mood for games.

Death stepped inside and closed the door as she did so, arching a slender black eyebrow at him. Upon seeing her, the Prince huffed in irritation and spun on his heel, heading for the minibar to the left wall in his rooms. She watched him in silence as he poured himself a drink and drained the glass in a single go. He roughly set the glass back down on the bartop and turned to face her once again.

"How do you have the patience not to kill fools like that on a regular basis? " He grouched, despite his harsh words, he was starting to simmer down already.

Death shrugged and leaned back against the shut door. "Most of the time, they aren't worth the effort of it takes to get upset. Their lives are a simple blink of my eyes remember. You will learn that soon enough, in the future. I only worry myself with the ones that Fate tampers with. Those are long term trouble. They have the power of altering the course of history." She crossed her arms over her chest, watching as Harry slumped into the nearest chair with a tired sigh.

"That's all well and good for you, I suppose. But I have to deal with these stupid assholes."

Death snorted, an amused smile touching her lips. She straightened up and walked over to kneel in front of her adopted child. "Harry, darling. It will pass, I promise. Not quickly for you at the moment, unfortunately. But it will."

She placed her hands on his knees and gave them a gentle squeeze, her tone brisk as she changed the subject. "Now. Put thoughts of those twits aside for the moment my lovely one. I have come to speak with you on other things. One of which you need to know immediately."

Harry raised his head and looked at her with wary eyes. "Oh?"

She nodded. "Yes. This one is of the most immediate importance. Especially since it is an issue with your Council." This earned her a narrow-eyed look. "The Mage's faction? There is no cause for concern, at least for yourself. They are utterly loyal to you."

Harry cut her off before she could continue, his tone wary. "That doesn't sound good. What did you do _?_ "

She patted his knee. "No need for alarm, darling. I promise. I'm sure you've seen and recognized the markings worn by all of them by now."

"Yes." Harry ground out reluctantly. "But I could not get any further information about where they had come from, or why they were worn."

"They were my doing. Anyone wearing that mark, _your mark_ , has been thoroughly vetted by myself. They can be trusted, with anything."

"Okay…" Harry eyed her, skeptically. "Why Grindelwald's mark?"

"Not that sorry excuse for a Wizard. It wasn't ever his, to begin with. It was the Deathly Hallows. _Mine._ Now it's yours. The mark of a Living God." She grinned. It reminded Harry of a hungry predator. He made a conscious effort not the wonder at her vetting process for the Mages. Even as his brain stuttered to a stop at her words.

"Living God?" He whispered faintly. Harry felt numbness creep over him at the very notion. He did not know how to even begin processing that statement.

"I swear, Harry, you have nothing to fear from them. They are yours. To help you protect yourself. From the Council, from the humans, whatever comes. They are your nuclear threat if necessary. Even now, they are seeking out more potentials for you, Mage or otherwise." She reached up to pet his messy hair in a gesture that was meant to be soothing, but only resulted in Harry feeling like some sort of favored pet instead.

"You founded a Cult," He whispered, gently pulled his head away from her touch. "in my name."

She lowered her hand without comment. "I prefer to think of it as the beginning of your religious following, darling. Every fledgling God needs them, at least in the beginning of their immortal lives. The Valkyrie are your chosen race. They have not dedicated themselves to any of the gods in millennia. They are perfect for you. I was very pleased when you selected to be reincarnated as one of them. You couldn't have chosen a more suitable people for your needs. Even if you were not aware of that at the time."

Harry just shook his head with a soft distressed sound, bringing his hands up to cover his face as his whole world tilted on its axis.

Death continued speaking, seemingly unbothered by his reaction. "Not all of your followers are Mages of course. There are many who are not. I've been very busy expanding your power base while you've been handling the needs and safety of your people."

Harry sighed, and slowly lifted his head. His thoughts were racing, overflowing with a multitude of questions, but he chose to start somewhere simple "Meloth? Kiran?"

Death slowly stood up, seeing that Harry, at least for the time being, was not going to fly into a rage. "No. Not yet. I was waiting on including them you see. They would not have been able to keep it from you. Now that you know, however, I will be visiting them."

The Prince huffed and stared down at the carpeted floor. "Great. I'm sure they will just _love_ that." He suddenly frowned as a thought occurred to him. "How in the world did you convince any of them that I'm a God in the first place? Nevermind one that they should follow?"

Death wandered over to look out the window, her back to Harry. "Hmm… it's a little bit different for everyone of course. I suppose the simplest explanation is this. I am Death."

She waved her hand in a careless, dismissive manner. "Which means I can see their souls. I know what moves them, that is important to them, what can corrupt them. They cannot lie to me on any level. Their souls give away their untruths every time."

She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a little smirk of dark amusement that Harry found himself unable to share in. It made him suppress a shudder to think of someone reading his soul as easily as they might be words on parchment.

She turned back to the window, not noticing his disquiet. "I simply used whatever methods would give me the necessary results. Those that I felt could not be trusted, had their memories removed, or if they were too much of a threat, I dealt with them accordingly."

Harry blinked. "You killed them?"

Death shrugged bony shoulders, unmoved by the idea. "Very few. Most I simply turned in the direction of your enemies. Let them deal with the problems those individuals will cause. Unfortunately, removing too many lives without just cause upsets the balance of life in general. I had to be selective on how to deal with some of them. Rest assured, Harry darling, very few were that dangerous to you."

Harry nodded slowly, unsure how to feel about it. He had long ago let go of the notion that killing to protect himself and those he cared about was morally wrong. There were lines and boundaries, of course, he wasn't a blood lusting psychopath after all, but sometimes, a permanent solution was the only sure and sane path to take. "Okay...I guess. What about Tony? Or any children we have?"

Death turned back to regard him. "They are safe. Tony is widely known among your Marked Ones as your Mate, and is therefore, untouchable. When you bond, he will share your status. He will be bonding to a God after all. Not just a Valkyrie Prince, soon to be Valkyrie King."

"I have no say in any of this, do I?" Harry muttered under his breath. Of course, Death heard him in spite of this.

Death smiled and shook her head. "No. Because you would refuse if I gave you any, in this matter. These steps are _necessary_ for your continued Godhood, Harry. You will not survive in the long term if you do not have these founding stones. Nor will your mate, or any offspring you produce together. Your strength is their strength; your survival is theirs. Your power ensures their safety."

Silently, Harry rises to his feet and begins to pace the room as he tried to organize his thoughts. Death let him, knowing that Harry would settle in his own time. That he would accept these changes in light of protecting his future family. For nearly an hour, Harry paced, and in the meantime, Death gazed out the window at the world, and simply waited.

As she knew that he would, Harry settled down once more, this time on the couch. "Alright. So the Mages are firmly in my corner, as well as whoever else carries the mark. Fine. Can you explain to me how worshipers increase my 'power,' and what exactly they expect from me?"

Death turned back to her adopted child and strode over to sit beside him. "They expect what you are already trying to give to them. A restoration of their race, and a place to call home. They would prefer their own planet of course, but agree that Earth is an acceptable building point at this time. The Mages are surprisingly reasonable. They don't expect anything major within the next few generations except the building up of their population and settling more comfortably here. They understand that procuring a new home world will be a considerable undertaking that simply won't happen right away."

Harry hummed softly in acknowledgment, pleasantly surprised. His worry eased a bit. It was still a massive task and responsibility, but Harry felt it was possible to do, with enough time. "As to your other question, concerning your worshipers. The simple answer is Magic. Their devotion feeds your own expanding magic. It's the food of the Gods. Without it, you cannot grow beyond what you are now. In time, you will not need them any longer, and you will fade from worship, as will your mate and any descendants. Before you ask, no. Tony will not get much, if any benefit from your followers, to my knowledge. Not in the same way you do. Whatever power Tony has he must create with his own skills, or tap into whatever your bonding gifts to him. "

Harry nods slowly. "But he will share my lifespan, at least?"

"Yes. You are already a God. A mortal one yet. But a God nonetheless."

Harry frowned. "How, exactly, do I become an immortal one?"

"Well," Death reached out to take his hand. "Keep in mind that all Gods go through this process, now. To become immortal, you must first die. Both you and Tony, since he is to be your immortal mate. When you wake again, you will wake into your immortal life together. This is when you reach your maturity, so to speak."

Harry stared at her in disbelief. "I have to die. And Tony will follow me into this death? Please tell me you are joking!"

Death shook her head. "No, darling. I am not. At some point, you must give up this fleshy vessel. This means dying. Every God has to go through this same process. There are no exceptions. This is a test. Are you strong enough, brave enough, to let this happen? I know that you are little one. This hurdle is a mere trifle for you to overcome. You have embraced your own death twice before already. Therefore you have nothing to fear. Either of you. Your mate's heart is just as stout as your own. So long as you make it through, so will he."

Harry ran a hand roughly through his already mussed hair, exhaling a breath in an audible rush. "What about our children, the ones we have while still mortal? What would happen to them?"

Death gave him a sad smile. "They will be powerful. But they will be mortal. They cannot follow you into immortality."

Harry's breath froze in his lungs. "Their deaths would be final? Tony and I would have to watch them die?"

"Eventually, yes. But there would also be their children, their grandchildren, and so on for you to watch over. Plus, there is always the option to have more children once you and Tony are fully in your immortality. They would have to earn their own Godhood of course. But they would have the option, where as any you bear now, would not."

Harry shook his head, silently refuting her declaration. He pulled his hand out of her grasp. This wasn't an outcome he was willing to accept. He couldn't think of a more horrible thing for a parent to go through. He had seen the devastation it caused more than enough already in his previous lifetime. He had no desire to experience it himself in this one. "The solution to this is simple. I just won't have any now. I'll wait. Talk to Tony. Explain the situation to him. I doubt he would disagree with me on this. There are precautions I can take. Options. Maybe I can figure out a way to temporarily halt my fertility. We already have ways of boosting it in other Valkyrie, why shouldn't we be able to do that as well?"

Death looked at him closely, her face neutral. "And could you truly do that?"

Harry looked up at her, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean?"

She watched him with a clinical detachment that unnerved him. Reminding him once again, that this was Death, an unfathomable, and usually pitiless cosmic being. For all that he considered her a strange sort of family, there was much Harry couldn't hope to understand about her. Possibly never would. "Could you truly live through however many years, without a child to love?"

She tilted her head inquisitively. "Can Tony?"

She calmly folded her hands into her lap, her dark eyes staring into his own in a piercing manner. As though she were trying to strip away his fleshy layers to see how he worked underneath. It had been a long time since this sort of stare from her had bothered him. Harry had thought he'd become immune. Now he wondered if she hadn't simply toned it down for his benefit. "Can you demand of your loyal people that they increase their birthrate, and then refuse to bear any royal children of your own?"

Harry bit his lower lip and dropped his eyes away from her. He _did_ feel guilty. It _wasn't_ fair. But watching his children slowly die wasn't fair to _him_ either.

When he didn't answer, she hummed softly before continuing. Each word like a dagger to his conscious. "Could you leave your Valkyrie without a strong bloodline of rulers to guide them? To wield the power of the new Mage's faction justly? You would leave them to the Council? Those same selfish, greedy, prejudiced and incompetent beings you were just wistfully thinking of slaughtering? Or would you simply let your race diminish into nothingness over the coming generations? Assuming internal civil war, or war with the humans didn't destroy any hope of population recovery. They would continue for a time, but ultimately, without strong leadership, they would fail. Valkyrie would become one of the extinct races. Another casualty of the ever expanding Skrull Empire."

Harry's mind flew over the possibilities. The Mage's faction taking over, or perhaps the Council indeed creating civil war through their own arrogance and stupidity. Being discovered by the human governments, the possible experimentation or slaughter he felt certain would result.

 _After all, look what they do to their own people just because of naturally occurring mutations. Dumbasses are staring evolution at work right in the face, and this is the result._ He reminded himself bitterly.

The 'Mutant Problem' was a sore political point for Harry. He was solidly pro-mutant, except for extremists, like Magneto. That man just gave a bad name to mutants everywhere, and fed into the fears of the population even more. As much as Harry wanted to help their movement, he couldn't. Not at the risk of exposing his own people. It painfully drove home his own situation, that much more deeply.

The political ramifications of his refusing to bear children, the lives that would be lost because of that decision, clearly outweighed Harry's personal pain. Reluctantly, he was forced to admit defeat. The words, when they came, felt like acid in his mouth. "No. No, I could not. There is too much of a chance that my selfishness could result in the destruction of the people I love so much."

Death nodded. "I'm sorry. I would spare you that pain if I could. But I cannot. Your mortal children will be needed. Fate will have her way in this. Their existence is necessary for your people's future as a species. It affects your own godhood in the coming generations. Without your children, there is no sustained worship. Without worship, you will not grow into your immortality. Tony's fate is tied to your own, as is any immortal children you might have later."

"What happens to those that don't make it? The ones that fail this… test?"

Death sighed, and reached out to squeeze Harry's hand once more in an attempt to reassure him. She knew it wouldn't help, and that she wasn't very good at the whole 'comforting' thing to begin with. But he didn't flinch away from her again, this time. "The transformation will eventually destroy them. Mind. Body. Soul. They cease to exist, on every level of life."

Harry stared at her in horror, his pretty dual-colored eyes wide enough they looked like they might fall out of their sockets. She might have found the expression amusing on anyone else. Not so, Harry. There was no humor in the way he gazed mutely at her before finally finding his voice. The single word no more than a weak exhalation of air forced from his lungs. Merely the physical result of no longer being able to hold his breath in his chest cavity any longer. "Tony…"

The amount of tangled emotions contained within that one name was staggering.

She gave his hand a gentle tug to regain his attention, and snap him out of whatever horror was playing out in his mind's eye. "Before you ask, I do not know for sure what would happen to him. If for some, unfathomable reason, your rebirth failed. He might follow you into destruction; he might be reborn elsewhere. That is why true Godhood is attained so very rarely. Why there are so few of us. It is a dangerous choice, and a terrible risk, each of us must make. Even more so for you, because of your tie to Tony."

Harry yanked his hand back, suddenly angry. "You never gave me that choice! You and your Hallows simply changed me! Without my understanding or consent! You told me it was a gift, and like an idiot, I didn't question it! I would have never put anyone else at risk of complete obliteration! Now Tony could follow me into oblivion, because we're already partially bonded."

Death nodded. "You're right; I didn't. Because the best Gods, are the ones who do not want it, Harry. I was selfish enough to start your transformation without giving you all the facts. I will admit that my loneliness would not stand for you to choose differently. And at the time, I did not know that Tony was already partly bonded to you. But I know that you will do fine and so will Tony, because he has you.

Harry stared into her dark eyes, and couldn't hold onto his anger, knowing she was right. She would never purposely do anything to harm him unless she felt there wasn't another option. Those who sought power, were usually corrupt, or easily corruptible. "I…"

He looked away from her. "I understand _why_ you did it. But I don't think...it's something that I can forgive. Secrets. Half-truths. Making choices for me without my consent or knowledge. I can't live my life like that. I can't trust you fully if you use these methods on me. I won't submit myself to another Dumbledore. I will never submit my _family_ to a being like that."

Death briefly closed her eyes, reeling a bit from the verbal blow. Never in her many thoughts, plans and considerations, did it cross her mind that Harry might view her actions in that light. "I do not expect you to. You are the sort of person that can forgive hurts and dangers pertaining to yourself, but never to the ones you love."

She took a deep breath and frowned down at the carpet. "I do not expect any kindness in your feelings concerning this. I can only sincerely apologize. It was not my intention to come across in such a manner."

She raised her gaze to his, conveying how regretful she was of her actions. "I hope, that eventually, time will soothe the hurt a bit, but it is a betrayal that will never fully go away. I sought only to do good things for you. I knew you would not accept if I gave you the option, but it was never my intention to drag Tony into it."

She shook her head. "Nor was I aware at the time, that your children would be mixed up in it. I've only very recently learned this. Their Fate, as far as I know, had not yet begun to be written. Even now, I only know that you will have them, and that they are important to the future. But take heart my little one, it means that both of you will make it through, because Fate would not begin writing their futures, if she was not confident that the two of you would be there to bring them into existence."

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself and turned his head to stare out of the window for a few moments as he gathered his thoughts. There was much to think over, and much to process emotionally. However much as he wanted to rage at both her and the circumstances, it would do him no good. Nothing could be changed. He simply had to deal with the situation as it stood now.

At least his worries concerning the Mage's factions were put to rest. The Council could bitch all they wanted. Harry wasn't going to make waves where there weren't any needed to be made. Which meant most of the issues created by his recent illness and incapacitation were now cleared up completely. Oh, there were still a couple of little things, here and there. But the major issues had been soundly dealt with.

Death was silent during this time, giving Harry his space and not pushing until the young Valkyrie felt he was ready to talk to her again. He didn't shout, or demand that she leave, which she counted as a win, but she was not stupid enough to keep pestering him before he was ready to continue the conversation with her.

Harry deeply appreciated the quiet, because he was having a hard time with not wanting to do exactly that. Eventually, he was able to wrangle his emotions into a little mental box to deal with later, after she had left. Now was not the time. Taking a steadying breath, he turned his head towards her once more. Harry managed to keep his tone neutral. "You said there were other things you needed to speak with me about?"

Death nodded primly, secretly glad for the change of subject for the time being. She was under no illusion that the issue was put to rest, but for the moment, it was shelved to deal with other topics. "Yes. I did. The Mage's faction and I have been working over the many years you were growing up to provide a place for your Valkyrie, where they do not have to hide like they are now among the human populace."

Harry blinked at her, at a loss. "What?" He murmured softly, squinting his eyes at in confusion. "How in the world did you manage that?"

Death smiled in near giddiness, flashing too sharp teeth. Which Harry was used to enough by now, that the sight did nothing to bother him. "With Magic, both Divine and Mundane. Don't worry. I made sure not to breach those pesky non-interference rules. It's perfectly legit. All I did was point your Mages in the correct direction. The rest, well the rest your mother did, though she did not know it at the time. The only thing I did was move the Black Gate off of the abandoned shuttle ship and into a secure location within the new city. "

Harry simply stared for a long moment before finding his voice once more. "Again. What? Explain it in order, so that it makes sense, if you please."

Death chuckled but nodded. "You mother, when she fled your dying homeworld, with the ragtag remains of your race, did not hijack a deep space passenger ship, Harry. She stole a science and exploration vessel. Which means she took advanced tech with her, some of which you have used in your biological research."

Harry nodded, familiar with what she was referring to, but he had not known that there was more that was brought down to the planet. Death cleared her throat and continued. "There were other things aboard the ship as well, such as seeds and animal DNA. They were all stored in cryo for research and colonization on one of your moons. It was slotted for farming production. Of course, with the Skrull invasion, the project had barely managed to get started before the moon was blown to bits."

Harry leaned back into the couch, an excited grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "And you're saying that the seeds and the DNA was still viable? They were able to be integrated into Earth's climate?"

Death nodded, clearly pleased with herself.

"How did you manage all of this without any of the humans noticing what was going on?"

She hummed, and then laughed, the sound deeply amused. "Wards darling. And choosing a place that humans rarely pay any attention to. A landmass inhospitable to much other than some very determined Penguins and Seals."

Harry snorted, voice rising in laughing disbelief. "Bloody hell. You stole _Antarctica_?"

Death laughed again. "Yes. Yes, I did. It wasn't being utilized to its fullest potential. So I decided to fix that. Humans are unable to live there. Few animals make it their home and the ones that do have been accommodated appropriately. No weather systems have been altered, nor has the natural ocean rhythms. There will be no environmental interference to moving the Valkyrie there. Not of that sort anyway. Naturally, once your race is actually living there, some things will alter, but I've made sure it was set up so that the rest of the planet's natural balance is not disturbed."

" _How?_ " He asked incredulously.

"My darling Harry. _Magic."_

The little Prince glared at her, unamused. "Ha. Bloody. Ha."

She shrugged. "It's the truth. Magic. Wards. Many of them. Layers of Muggle Repelling Charms to turn ships away from unwanted areas, confusion and forgetful charms to keep the determined, curious, and stupidly lucky ones away. More to combat the cold and the weather. Animals can still get into the areas they need to, of course, but I tweaked the wards to be able to identify trackers on them, and they are destroyed upon passing the wards. The trackers, not the animals. So the critters will have sanctuary there and hopefully will remain undisturbed. It is still largely frozen on the edges of course, but the livable parts are under spell domes. That way the ice critters still have the space they need, and you have the space you require. They cannot be seen by any of the satellites before you ask. Basically, I have made the place as uninteresting as possible for the entirety of the human race, and so far, in the many years since I started the project, humans have pretty much forgotten its existence outside textbooks. Any science and research teams and projects down there have moved on to other areas, leaving it clear of occupation. There are still fishing vessels of course, but the wards keep them at a distance."

Harry shakes his head slowly. "You are just something else. Well, that seems to have solved the human issue, and the animals are being looked after. But how is it livable for us?"

"Well, the spell domes for one. They do more than shield from prying eyes. They keep the cold outside and the warmth inside. Now, most people don't realize this outside of the scientific community, but there are active subglacial volcanoes under Antarctica. Now I've made sure that they aren't dangerous, but they are your main source of heat in the region, and so I harnessed it. I was pleased to find that under all that ice and snow is a shockingly fertile landmass. Your lakes and rivers are a blue unlike anything I've ever seen, and purer than most of the other water sources on this planet. Your plant seeds took off beautifully. The animals took a little bit longer, but they are thriving as well. Their numbers have to be tightly controlled of course, but I think you can manage that well enough. There's a whole little ecosystem already established there. Once we were certain that it was stable and sustainable, the Mages and I began crafting towns and cities. And let me tell you they are magically made that so it's done much faster. Its ready for you, and that's just the surface. There is much more below the surface, both underground, under the ice sheets and under the water. You shouldn't have to worry about the need for expansion for a very long time Harry."

Harry blew out a breath as she came to a stop. "That is just, so much to process. So, the city is established and waiting for occupation. Wonderful! But how do we travel back and forth without notice?"

Death grinned at him again. "Portkey Glyphs. Permanent ones that are embedded under the skin, and fashioned right to the skeletal structure. A minor surgery that will heal quickly with the tech you have now. They cannot be lost, stolen, or given away. Unfortunately, they are still voice activated by the wearer and can still carry unintended passengers. I haven't found a way around that part, as of yet. However, if you set up secure jump points, have them heavily warded and guarded, I don't think it will be an issue. It will take some time to have everyone fitted with the Glyph of course, but that will simply allow you to fill the city in the order you feel is best."

For a few minutes, they both fall into silence as Harry absorbs the new information. He needed the time to order his thoughts, and with this in mind, he rose from his seat on the couch and wandered over to his desk, pulling out a notebook and pen. Hurriedly, he scribbled down ideas and things to look further into. "There are already Mages there looking after the crops and animals? Valkyrie for maintenance and the general upkeep?"

"Yes. Also the research labs and security."

Harry nodded and scribbled some more. "I want to see it of course and familiarize myself with things before adding more people. But I'm hopeful I can start the process of moving Valkyrie in there at some point this upcoming year."

"Feasible." Death confirmed quietly.

"Good." Harry ripped the page off and started scribbling on the new one that had been under it. "I'll start as you suggested with the necessary bodies needed to get it up off the ground the running properly. Including their families, after I know it's safe to do so, and then begin adding the general population." Harry looked up and pinned a glowing gaze on Death. "This is amazing. Thank you. I don't know that I would have done something like this. You have no idea how much it means to be, to be able to give them a safe home."

Death waved him off. "At some point, you will need to establish a proper home planet for them, but this should help. I was happy to do it for you."

Harry nodded. "Of course, but like you said, that will take time. For now, this is more than I ever dreamed of being able to provide for them."

"Some will need to remain living or working among the humans."

"Yes, I'm aware. I need the contacts, the information and benefits having them in those places provide for us. Plus I'm not sure all of the Valkyrie with humans mates will want to move away."

"There is that as well, but at least now, it is an option."

Harry grinned fiercely. "Yes. It is. What did you name it, our new home?"

Death rose from her seat and strode over to Harry, looking down at his notes briefly before turning to face him. She reached out to cup his face in her hands and gather his full attention. He stilled, and gazed at her calmly, even though his bi-colored eyes swirled softly with power and joy.

She leaned in to place a kiss in the center of his forehead, her cold breath a faint tickle against his skin. "Atlantis. Its name is Atlantis, and Lotus awaits you there."


	20. Under the Winter Sun

**Under the Winter Sun**

 **Warnings:** _Language, some mild homophobia._

 **A/N: The long awaited chapter you all have been begging me for! Enjoy! Lemme know your thoughts! Thanks as always to my wonderful Beta Gia for her time and effort with each chapter! 3**

 ***** POV jumping around a bit in this chapter, please be aware my darling readers.**

 _Thoughts in Italics_

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Tony has taken to carrying the rings in his pocket everywhere he goes.

They comfort him, being so close. Dealing with cleaning up the mess Pepper had left behind with her absence is, frankly, stressful on a level he didn't remember it being before. Perhaps he had become even more intolerant of the deceptive and backbiting company culture than before. Tony had always hated dealing with the corporate side of Stark Industries and never hidden his intense dislike of it. But coming back to it after years of barely paying it much attention, aside from what his Ex said he needed to, just made it that much harder for Tony to find his bearings.

He felt a little like a minnow in a shark tank, at first. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed. Especially, when Tony knew he should be the much feared Great White in this particular shark tank. He owned the damned thing after all. But he was well aware that they could smell blood in the water with Pepper's absence, and they were circling. Watching, waiting, debating on their various options. Tony knew the game well enough. Hell, he grew up with it. He was smarter than these fish-eyed, razor toothed, ego inflated mackerel. He'd let the bolder, _(more idiotic),_ ones come to him first and let them try to prove just how brave they really were. If they tried to take a bite, they would quickly find out just how unappetizing Tony could be.

 _Here fishy, fishy, fishies. C'mon and take a nibble. This minnow has poisonous fangs, bitches._ He mused to himself, more than once, when watching the maneuvering they thought they were being subtle about.

His Department Heads were the worst of the lot. They were individuals he didn't recognize in the Boardroom that made all the major decisions for Stark Industries, with Pepper, _(formally)_ as the final word. These were faces of people he didn't know, or trust. Strangers were virtually running his company. This was not okay. Pepper might have known and trusted them. But Tony was now very much doubting his own choices in trusting _her_. So he was currently finding all of her choices in dealing with his corporate assets as troublingly questionable.

Within the first half hour of becoming aware of them, he'd had Jarvis dig up everything he could find on each person before even entering the conference room for his first meeting with them. These people were handling millions of dollars of his money on a near daily basis. Making choices for his research departments and company that impacted his reputation, and the reputation of his products at every turn. He had every right to know what freaking color lacy underwear they wore, as far as he was concerned.

 _Alright. So I might be just a little bit paranoid. Who wouldn't be after Obadiah Stane? Look what happened the last time I let someone else run things. At least I know Pepper wouldn't sell my products blackmarket behind my back. But these guys? Yeah...no._

There were names of companies he was working with that Tony wasn't overly familiar with, and important deals he was only vaguely knowledgeable of. He had Jarvis viciously look into each contract to be sure it was on the up and up. Jarvis was looking into the companies themselves, as well. The last thing Tony would tolerate was someone doing shit behind his back again. Stane had nearly killed him, and Pepper...well. He wasn't sure how to categorize her just yet. He figured it was better to assume to worst at this point than to be caught with his pants down. Truly though, he couldn't fathom why she would attack, or try to ruin the company they both _(she)_ worked so hard on for so many years. People have done stranger things though. So Tony put his trusty AI on it, just to be certain.

There were various Charity funds he had no idea he was donating to, not that Tony minded those ones so much, once he understood what was going on. He just hadn't been aware of them. After having Jarvis verify that they were legit, and using the donated money appropriately, Tony left those accounts alone for the time being. Their political affiliations were tolerable, and so he had no issue with them.

It was mostly the _people_ that Tony was having the hardest time with.

Tony struggled with being social with ordinary people on a good day. It frustrated him that he had to slow himself down enough to be understood by those around him. He was impatient, he was short tempered, and he hated feeling like he was somehow out of the loop of what was going on around him. _(His own fault, though he would only admit such in the privacy of his own thoughts.)_

Tony was pretty sure he'd snarled at Pepper's secretary more than once. He was certain the woman hated him, and he'd only been in the Malibu office for a couple of weeks. He was waiting for something nasty to show up in his coffee, or for some important meeting to be mysteriously missed. Or hell, important documents ending up being misplaced, or him missing a vital call from one of Tony's investors. The death glares that woman could muster up were surprisingly unsettling, even if she never called Tony out on his shitty mood.

He sort of felt bad for never remembering her name.

Thank everything scientific under the sun, that he had Jarvis to help him. Otherwise, Tony was sure he would have murdered someone by now. He felt like he was being bombarded on all sides with information and problems that needed to be fixed.

 _Was this normal day to day activity for Pep? If so, I'd seriously been underpaying her._

The rings in his pocket helped.

Each time dealing with the business-side of his company stressed him to the point of violence, he wound his fingers into the left-hand pocket of his slacks, and lightly caressed the small ring box Tony had transferred them to. So that he could carry them on his person as a reminder every day.

Everything he was doing now, took him one step closer to Harry. Even if it didn't seem like it at that very moment. In the end, Tony was dealing with this nightmare for Harry.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

It was cold in Malibu.

Harry was not expecting to have to wear a sweater while in California, and so hadn't packed anything but summer clothes for his flight out. It was currently, according to the radio, thirty-four degrees outside, and falling rapidly. California was about to be potentially slammed with a snow storm later that night. Poor Harry was just as unprepared as everyone else in the state. He found himself in desperate need of purchasing appropriately warm clothes, now, before more Cali natives lost their freakin' mind over the threat of a bit of white powder.

The roads were terribly congested with people rushing out to stores, stocking up on food, water and whatever else they thought they would need to hunker down with. Some of them were acting like it was the Apocalypse with how ridiculous they were being. Harry just mentally rolled his eyes as he carefully eased into his hard won parking spot. Their near panic would have been a little funny if Harry wasn't stuck out in the middle of it with his own unavoidable shopping.

Unfortunately, today was one of those days where nothing was humorous. Harry's trip to California wasn't for vacation, despite his compelling need to shop.

Missing Valkyrie eggs were a huge deal and an issue that needed to be investigated immediately. Harry had thrown together a suitcase or two in less than thirty minutes while Kiran booked him a flight that left two hours from when he had gotten the initial frantic phone call. Harry had barely gotten there, and through inspection before the plane had left the ground.

The trip had been so hastily put together, that the only people who were aware that Harry was here in California were Kiran and his brother Meloth. Even his own mother had been told after the fact, and Harry was sure he was going to get an earful once he was back on the east coast.

After touching down in LAX, Harry had caught a cab straight to the rental place, where the car was waiting for him, and then immediately went to the hotel, checked in, dumped his bags, got something decent to eat, and set off to deal with the situation.

Harry had already met with the dozen distressed and furious parents, whose offspring were stolen from a communal Nesting site. That sensitive task had taken up nearly all of his morning, and as each hour passed, it had gotten colder and colder outside. Leaving Harry a shivering wreck when he finally left the interviews with the distraught Valkyrie. Turning on the radio in the rental car had revealed the dreadful news of the incoming storm, changing Harry's plans and forcing him to do some unanticipated shopping.

A typical human might think that using such a child rearing practice to be strange, but communal Nesting was an ancient cultural norm to the Valkyrie, and no one had felt the need to change it when it clearly benefited both child and parent well. Not all Valkyrie communally Nested, of course, like these ones had chosen to do, but there was security in numbers, as well as other social benefits of doing so.

Together like this, the parents could carry on with their own lives much more easily. Secure in the knowledge that a trusted Watcher or two was protecting the little ones, while the parents were at work, or dealing with other life events that could not be ignored. It also permitted the parents to socially mingle with other Valkyrie in that same stage of life, and later, afforded the little fledglings with children roughly their own age to safely interact with when they reached the appropriate age to enter a Creche group.

Watchers were carefully selected by the group as a whole from the parents participating in Nesting, or their immediate family members, such as siblings or grandparents. Always, the Watchers were mated, and had proven they could safely care for their own little ones. An unmated, childless Valkyrie was not eligible to become a Watcher over a Nest. Once Watchers were chosen, schedules are carefully worked out, and the eggs were never left alone for any span of time, day or night.

Communal Nests depended on a few things; size, the number of breeding Valkyrie in an area, and their social hierarchy. Not to say that Nests were arranged in any sort of Class system, because they were not, but it had been noted over the years, that like minded parents often banded together. Mixed Nests were a good way for Valkyrie of different lifestyles to interact and have common ground together. Harry had learned in his history lessons about Communal Nests on their old Homeworld that were as large as several hundred eggs, with dozens of Watchers. There was nothing of that size on Earth of course, and Harry couldn't imagine the logistics of properly running such a large Nest.

There was another option, of course. Not all Valkyrie wanted to, or for some reason couldn't, communally Nest. Some mated Valkyrie preferred the seclusion of a hidden Hearth Nest for the three month period their offspring was most vulnerable. Where the egg(s) are closely guarded by the expectant parents alone. Nothing was wrong with either approach. They were simply different, and a Hearth Nest usually had at least one parent that was regularly home at most times to start with. The Valkyrie equivalent of the human concept of a traditional housewife. Though that was where the similarities ended.

Hearth Nesting was traditional for the Royal family, and Harry intended to continue that tradition, though, with him and Tony as busy as they constantly were, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to manage that. Due to Tony's Ironman activities, Harry had already partially decided that it would be himself staying home with their egg. But that was the extent of what he'd figured out. Future children were still a nebulous concept for Harry at the moment.

This small Communal Nest, of a dozen breeding Valkyrie had been invaded, its human-mate Watcher killed, and the little ones whisked away to who knew where. While he had met with most of the victims, Harry still hadn't met with the grieving Valkyrie, who had not only lost a child, but their mate in this travesty as well. For the moment, visit requests were being refused by the Valkyrie and their family.

Harry didn't blame them.

They were all devastated, terrified for their little ones. Horrified that the Sanctity of a Nest had been violated, and livid to the point of violence. Unfortunately, there was no direction to point this energy, and so Harry had gotten the brunt of some of it. Though none of them had lost their head enough to dare to attack their Prince. Still, tempers had flared, tears had been shed, and more than one Valkyrie had become verbally aggressive.

The situation was dire. Harry knew he didn't have long before some of these parents went on a rampage looking for their children. The only thing holding them back now, was the need for secrecy for their whole race. And only just.

The entire situation made Harry sick to his stomach.

He couldn't imagine the pain of being in their place. But he also couldn't help picturing a similar scenario, over and over again with his own future little one. So many things could go wrong at this stage. The shell was delicate, stretched thin and brittle as it expanded to accommodate the still growing child inside, and any cracking could damage the little one. Too cool temperatures would outright kill the baby, and too hot would as well.

For that vulnerable and delicate egg to be callously stolen from a place in which they were supposed to be safe. Harry couldn't fathom what he would do in their place.

Probably something unforgivable.

The chances of Harry finding every single egg undamaged were not good. Someone was going to lose their child forever, no matter what Harry did.

If he even found them.

Currently, he had no idea where to start looking. The kidnappers had left no clues aside from the bullet that had killed the Watcher. A single, neat wound through the head. The poor man hadn't even known he was dead before he hit the ground. The only thing that Harry could for certain say, with any confidence, was that someone had used a high powered, ranged rifle to manage that shot. Which meant there was more than one person involved in this robbery, because a single person would not have gotten out of their hiding spot, and then into and out of the building in the short amount of time this had taken.

There were cameras all over the building, for security against neighborhood teenagers, not this sort of high-efficiency criminal. Adding that to the fact that Harry doubted the average person could manage to get their hands on a rifle of that caliber, he felt that he was looking for someone of a military persuasion. But that was as far as the leads went. Someone had policed their brass, so there were no bullets, or casings to be found anywhere. Harry had a specialist coming into the building for fingerprints, but he seriously doubted that there would be any to be found, aside from the parents own.

Which left him with little to nothing to go on right at the moment. He would have to speak in depth with some of his contacts in various organizations to see if there was chatter after this, because there certainly hadn't been any before hand. Which, if it was any of them, only meant that it was kept very hush, hush. Not good. The implications, and repercussions of these events frightened Harry.

 _How had anyone even found out about the eggs in the first place? How had the nest been discovered, and why would someone want the little ones?_ Harry feared the worst.

He shivered violently in his t-shirt and shorts as he reluctantly stepped outside of the rental car, cursing under his breath as he slammed the door and hurried his steps toward the busy sidewalk. Finding a parking spot within reasonable walking distance to the shops he wanted to visit had been a brutal nightmare. He officially hated driving in Malibu at this point.

"What the hell was I thinking, coming outside in this weather to do the touristy shopping thing? Should have just stayed in the hotel and huddled under a blanket in front of the TV." He grumbled to himself under his breath.

The cold here was nothing like the chill he was used to in England. Not at all. He was stubborn though, and wasn't ready to throw the towel in just yet. He wasn't going to admit defeat. In spite of his determination to tough it out with some level of decorum, he couldn't help his body's unfavorable reaction to the temperature, only ignore it for the time being to the best of his ability.

He was nearly done with his unavoidable tasks for the day. He was just stopping to get something hot to drink, then he would hit the last stop on his way back to the hotel, and he would not emerge for the rest of the day. He'd sit there and watch bad TV. Or maybe even find something on the porn channel. Harry rarely indulged himself in that activity while out traveling. Then perhaps a nap before ordering room service for dinner. It all sounded lovely in his mind. However, at the moment, there were the crowds to deal with, and the unrelenting cold.

 _I'm British, for Goodness sake! I should be able to deal with a little bit of chill. Stop being a pansy!_ Harry snorted to himself at the thought, and stepped into the warm coffee shop with a soft relieved sigh.

Only to groan in dismay when he saw the line at the counter. Apparently, everyone else in the city had the same idea as Harry. Or so it seemed like. The place was packed, and Harry had been so lost in his brief daydreaming, that he hadn't noticed until entering the building.

Grumbling under his breath, Harry moved to get in line, rubbing his hands together to try and urge the cold stiffness from his fingertips. He would rent the defective car that had no heating in it. Though the blasted air conditioning worked just fine. _Typical Potter luck._

His eyes trailed slowly over the menu, the wide and varied selection caused his nose to wrinkle. _Seriously? Could people make tea and coffee any more complicated?_

 _Thank goodness I'm only here for a hot chocolate. That should be simple enough._ But as his eyes trailed over the varied options, his heart sank. They'd complicated that as well it looked like.

Sighing to himself, Harry picked one out mentally that didn't seem like blasphemy and flatly refused to give any others else a second glance. Instead, letting his eyes wander over towards the muffins. He was feeling a little peckish. Quickly picking out one of his favorites, he likewise ignored the other options and turned his attention elsewhere.

He looked around the little drink shop and discreetly watched the other people from under his eyelashes. He saw few gloves, hats, scarves, or sensible jackets. Perhaps it was a little cruel, but it made Harry feel better about his own lack of warm clothes. At least he wasn't the only jackass that hadn't paid any attention to the weather before venturing outside.

He stood in line for nearly twenty minutes before finally reaching the counter and the harried looking Barista. Harry's eyes flicked to the smudged name tag on his bright red apron.

Gavin.

"Good afternoon, Gavin." Harry offered with a pleasant smile.

Gavin just looked at him with an expression of puzzled irritation and grunted something that vaguely sounded like a greeting. Unperturbed, Harry ordered a raspberry hot chocolate with whipped cream and a warm banana nut muffin. He'd be bitchy too if he had to deal with this crowd every day.

Gavin sighed as he rang up the purchase and half turned to shout over his shoulder at a petite blond girl further back by the entrance to the kitchen.

"Heat up a Banana Nut!"

The blond rolled her eyes and snatched up a muffin to do as told, though Harry was amused to note that her attitude was directed toward Gavin, not himself. He didn't comment as he paid for his pick me up and stepped to the side, letting the next person in line step forward to deal with the surly Gavin.

Within a couple minutes, the blond hurried her way over with the muffin, while another young man without a name tag breezed by with Harry's hot chocolate. Plopping it down without breaking stride as he went right back into making the next set of drinks.

The young lady, Charlotte, Harry noted, gave him a sweet smile as she handed him the muffin and told him to have a good day. Harry flashed his own smile and thanked her before moving away from the counter with his items.

 _At least one of them was friendly._ Harry mused, half amused and half bewildered.

Subconsciously, Harry dodged incoming patrons as he carefully made his way to one of the doors. The place was quickly becoming overly packed with bodies, and Harry was finding it harder to maneuver around some of them, since they refused to give even the slightest ground to let him pass. At one point, he got stuck in the middle of the room for several minutes because of a group of college students that were too busy shouting over one another in conversation to pay attention to anyone else around them. Finally, Harry lost his patience and decided to be rude right back. Frowning, he bullied his way right through the middle of the group, trying his best to not knock into anyone unnecessarily.

The jerks barely noticed.

Finally, emerging from the worst of the noisy crowd, Harry spied the exit doors through a brief gap in bodies. It wasn't the same set that he had come in by, but at this point, he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of this mess, get to his crappy rental and get back to his hotel, so he could ignore the rest of the world for the remainder of the day.

 _Freedom!_ He crowed in the privacy of his mind as he made a mad dash for the way out. Harry twisted himself around an arguing couple and made a break for the glass portal. Only to be suddenly knocked back wards, his ass meeting the floor in spectacular fashion. The banana nut muffin went flying out of his hand to who knew where, and his hot chocolate, from the sound of it, ended up all over whoever it was he'd run into.

"Son of a bitch! Ow! Fuck, that's hot!"

Harry's breath froze in his lungs. Slowly, he lifted his green eyes. His sore bottom forgotten, and his flash of temper fizzling out near as quickly as it had risen. He knew that voice. He would know it anywhere. He'd have to be dead to not recognize it.

 _Tony._

The man was currently grimacing down at his ruined suit, not looking at Harry as he pinched his fingers gingerly on the shirt and held it out from his body as far as possible to minimize the burning of the hot liquid. Tony hadn't noticed Harry yet, focused as he was on the wet stained clothes. Harry had the faint notion that the designer Armani ensemble was officially garbage. Chocolate didn't come out easily.

Harry's eyes greedily took in this older version of his mate. Tony had aged well. His man's skin was kissed from the sunshine here in California. His physique was, frankly, yummy in Harry's opinion, but then, Tony always had worn suits well. Harry briefly wondered about any changes to the body under that fancy suit, but his thoughts were quickly derailed, his brain too busy taking in every little detail it could to linger long. There were a few more nicks and scars of his hands from his work, but Harry was unbothered by them, more interested in the possible stories behind them than anything else.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was actually less than a minute, blue eyes shifted over to meet his own, stormy grey in his anger, and Harry watched as they widened in shock. The grey color slowly fading as Tony's mind caught up with what his eyes were telling him.

"Harry?" The man breathed softly, nearly inaudible, but Harry's sharp hearing picked it up over the noise of the coffee shop. Harry didn't speak, a little overwhelmed. Instead he offered a hesitant smile and lifted his hand in a little corny finger-wiggle of a wave.

Instantly, Tony dropped the wet cloth from his fingers, no longer caring about it in the least, and reached his hands out to help Harry up off the floor. Silently, Harry let himself be helped. He didn't know what to make of this unexpected meeting. He hadn't known that Tony would be in California. Had, in fact, thought his mate was still recovering in his tower in New York City.

 _Although,_ Harry suddenly recalled, _I didn't tell Jarvis about this impromptu trip out to the west coast._ The need had come suddenly, giving Harry almost no time to get himself a flight. Emergency situations had a tendency to do that, and informing Jarvis of his travel plans had, truthfully, been the last thing on his mind at the time.

Tony's voice shook Harry from his wandering thoughts.

"Harry, are you alright?" The Valkyrie blinked, focusing on the man in front of him, who was now holding both of his hands gently as blue eyes worriedly peered into his face. Harry offered a smile that was more genuine this time, though tired.

"Yes, Tony. I'm alright. It's just been a long day, and, well, I didn't know you were in California. Seeing you surprised me."

Tony arched an eyebrow at him. "Good surprise, I hope?"

Harry grinned. "As if it would be anything else? God, I can't believe you're here. I don't know what to say after so long. I _missed_ you."

Some of the tension suddenly melted out of Tony's frame. "Oh, good. I thought, after everything, you might...well...hate me."

Harry blinked, confused. "Hate you..? Why would I hate you?"

Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, uhm...because of...look can we talk somewhere else? It's loud in here and...well I don't want to have this conversation here…"

Harry frowned, but glancing around, concluded that Tony was right. This really wasn't the place to have any personal conversations. "Alright, yeah. Let's go somewhere else. Your car or mine?"

Tony huffed a happy breath. "Let's take mine, we can come back for yours. Happy was driving me around on my errands, so we have the privacy of the limo."

Harry laughed softly and shook his head. "Still with the limo Tony? Did you ever get your driver's license?"

His mate gave him an affronted look. "Of course I did. Eventually. C'mon."

Still clasping hands, they left the coffee shop together and headed towards the side of the building where the limo was parked. Leaning back against the side of the vehicle, smoking a cigarette, was Happy.

The man looked surprised, but quickly dropped his smoke and stepped on it to put it out, and swiftly opened the door for the both of them.

"Mr. Stark." He offered in greeting, shooting an obviously curious look between the two of them and then at their entwined hands. Tony just nodded to Happy and didn't answer his unspoken question. "Happy, this is Harry Sinclair, Harry, this is Happy, my driver, and one of my oldest friends, aside from Pepper, and Rhodey."

Harry offered the driver a smile and let go of Tony's hand long enough to extend it in offer of a handshake, which Happy took with some surprise on his features. "Hello Happy, it's nice to meet a good friend of Tony's."

Happy blinked, but offered his own friendly smile, though his eyes were still wary. "Nice to meet you too Mr. Sinclair."

"Just Harry." Tony butted in, causing Happy's eyebrows to arch up into his hairline, but he complied without fuss.

"Harry, then."

Harry nodded and slipped into the back seat of the limo when Tony gestured. Immediately upon entering the car, Tony instructed Happy to take them to the nearby beach before put up the privacy window between the front seat and their own.

Then he turned to Harry, looking rather nervous. "So...to continue our conversation from before…"

Harry quickly, but gently interrupted "Tony, I don't know how much you remember at this point, or how much Jarvis wants you to be told."

That caused Tony to pause, blinking as his mind whirled. "I...there is more that I don't remember, isn't there?"

Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably, carefully choosing his words. "Well, that's just it, I'm not sure. Why don't you tell me what you recall, in terms of our last interactions."

Tony swallowed and looked away, down at his hands for a moment before shifting his eyes restlessly to gaze out the window. "Well, I remember that we parted badly in college. I remember the years in between that, but...it's hard to say, exactly. I remember some things. Things that don't make sense. Some of it I think I dreamt up."

Harry felt a small spark of cautious hope bloom in his chest. "Like what?"

"Uhm…" Here Tony looked very uncomfortable

"It's alright Tony, just talk to me. This is important." Harry leaned forward in his seat a bit, trying to meet Tony's elusive gaze. It wasn't easy with the gentle rocking of the limo, and with the fact that Tony seemed suddenly shy.

"You're going to think that I'm insane, Harry. I swear I'm not on drugs of any kind, but I dunno if I was sober when this...this...whatever it was, happened. I remember...Feathers...black and….green feathers...and your eyes, they were...different. Silver? Black. I dunno. I didn't understand that one. There was...I think we argued again, but I can't recall what it was about. There was...we..."

Tony huffed, mentally telling himself to get a grip, and forced himself to get the words past his reluctant lips. "We had sex. Kinky sex, but again, I only remember bits and pieces. I'm not sure if any of it was real or not. Everything is hazy. Like I was really drunk."

Harry hummed softly, debating internally. "Okay...do you remember anything else, like, I dunno, strange conversations, strange places?"

Tony is quiet for a few minutes as he furrows his brows, trying to sort out his scattered thoughts. Instinctively, his hand wandered into the pocket with the rings, fingers tips rubbing against the body warm metal in comfort. Eventually, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can feel it there, but it's just out of reach. I know I'm missing more. I didn't realize before, but now I can tell."

He looked over at Harry. "The things I'm missing. It's important, isn't it? It's about us."

Hesitantly, Harry nodded "Yes. It's about us. There's so much. But Jarvis warned me, and I don't want to hurt you by accident."

Harry blinked back sudden tears, frustrated and hurt that he couldn't breach this last gap between them without risking damaging his mate.

"Oh Harry, no. No, baby. No. Don't do that." Instantly Tony reached out to pull Harry into his arms, holding him close. "Shhh...Shhh. It will be okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Harry snuggled close and hid his face in the side of Tony's neck, barely restraining himself from letting the tears loose. He shook his head at Tony's words. "It's not you. I promise. It's just so hard, being away from you. You haven't done anything wrong, Tony. I just… I'm reaching the limit of what I can deal with. But that's not your fault."

Feeling helpless, Tony just held him close and tried to comfort him the best way he could. Seeing those green eyes shine with withheld tears had pierced Tony deeply. They were all too familiar, and Tony got the impression that he had seen that expression on Harry's face not that long ago. The notion was unsettling.

 _Just how long have I forgotten whatever it is between us? How long has Harry been hurting and saying nothing out of fear of damaging my screwed up brain? Have we been together all this time and I just can't recall? No. That doesn't feel right, and doesn't explain Pepper's presence in my life before hand. Oh god, were Harry and I having an affair behind Pepper's back?_

He hoped not. Tony desperately hoped that he hadn't sunk that low, that he hadn't dragged Harry down that low. He would never forgive himself if that were the case.

Those thoughts didn't feel exactly correct either, but they felt more familiar than some of the other ones running around his mind at the moment. Absently he kissed the top of Harry's head, fingers curling in the long black hair affectionately. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Content to cling to one another.

Unfortunately, time continued to move around them and reality intruded into their little bubble. Happy's voice came through the speaker, a little hesitant. "Hey Boss, I'm pulling into the Half-Cove beach in just a minute."

Tony reached over to the intercom and pressed the button. "Yeah, alright Happy. Just park the car. Don't worry about us, for the time being."

"Yes, Sir." There was something knowing in Happy's voice that Harry didn't understand, causing him to frown at the speaker, but before he could inquire, Harry was distracted by something he felt was much more important.

Tony turned his attention back to the man half in his lap to find green eyes peering up at him sadly. Tony was still at a loss for what to say in this situation. For a few moments, the both of them just stared at one another, uncertain how to proceed.

Finally, Harry sighed and pulled away enough to sit up on his own. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what is safe to say, and I don't want to talk about the past. It's over and done with. The only thing there is pain and misunderstanding."

Reluctantly, Tony nodded, understanding what Harry meant. Unfortunately, the past was all that Tony had at the moment. These recent events that Harry spoke of, were simply blank spaces in Tony's head, ones that he hadn't even known were there until Harry was right in front of him. He reached out to gently cup Harry's face in his hands.

"Alright. So. That type of conversation is out. Can I… can I at least kiss you? I've missed you terribly Harry, and I never thought I would have you back. I intended to come and find you, after I finished a few things with Stark Industries, but...I didn't really have much hope that you would want to see me."

Instead of answering, Harry just leaned forwards and gently pressed his lips to Tony's, effectively cutting off his nervous rambling before it could continue any further. Tony froze against him, clearly not expecting the move, but swiftly pressed into the kiss, firm but gentle, letting Harry direct where it went.

It started out chaste. A simple, sensual exploration and reacquaintance of mouths. A soft mingling of their breaths. Tiny, slow pecks that shifted and gradually deepened into little nips and nibbles on plump lips. Little flicks of the tongue teasing and inviting the other to indulge in something more passionate, and less hesitant on both of their parts. By the time Harry pulled away, both were breathless and panting softly, their eyes shining with building desire.

Tony barely refrained from reaching out to pull Harry back against his body. He had to remind himself that this wasn't the time, or the place for much carnal activity beyond some steamy kisses. Happy was nearby for one, but their jarring situation made such actions less than advisable as well. Tony had more respect for Harry than to push the issue. He was simply glad that the man was back in his arms at all, after his stupid teenage self had walked, so callously, away from the best thing that had ever happened to him.

It had taken him a long time to grow up enough to possibly deserve a man like Harry, and Tony was determined to prove it every day if that's what was needed to keep him in Tony's life from here on out. He wasn't going to lose the love of his life twice if he could in any way prevent it. So for now, Tony simply pet Harry's hair while the both of them let their bodies calm down. Harry seemed content to remain right where he was in Tony's lap, and Tony had no intention of suggesting he move. It was comfortable, and reassuring for the both of them.

Instead, Tony took this time to think some more. He drifted into a half sleep state, with Harry snuggled against him. This mental place was somewhere he often used when working out difficult problems concerning either Stark industries or any Ironman projects he was stuck on. The problem was, it wasn't easy for him to reach this mental zone. Tony had to be relaxed, calm, something he had not been able to say he was for many months. But now, with Harry snuggled into his side, with no demands on his time, because he was done for the day and had turned off his phone, including Jarvis, he was able to slip smoothly into that trance-like state. He took full advantage of the opportunity, not knowing when the next time he would be able to reach it would be.

This time, when Tony searched for missing thoughts and images, he managed to uncover more bits and pieces than before. There was still a jumbled mess at first, but slowly, the pieces were starting to float together and click firmly into place. Once he realized what was happening, his pleased surprise was swiftly overwhelmed with information coming faster and faster. It was similar to a domino effect, once certain memories were recovered and lock in place, it pushed others to where they needed to be, until it was a confusing blur similar to the overload he had experienced in the lab, when he first found the rings.

Sensation and sound lost their meaning as he was drowning once again in the onslaught of memories. He knew what was happening, and there was no fear in him. This time, aside from a vicious headache, he was breathing just fine, he didn't feel ill. Distantly he was coherent enough to contribute that to the likelihood of there being no alcohol in his system. Instead, at the end of it, he was simply exhausted and somewhat confused. It seemed to have taken a long time.

Blinking, his eyes darted around the inside of the limo. Nothing had changed. The clock on his phone showed only a ten minutes had passed. He looked down at the man leaning against his chest to find that Harry had at some point dozed off against him, completely missing Tony's little revelation.

A pity, because Tony now remembered everything that he had been missing before. It still made his head pound fiercely at the moment to pull those memories up, but the point was, they were all there. Being in Harry's presence had been the catalyst it seemed.

 _Or maybe it was his unspoken forgiveness? Or the shared kisses?_

Tony wasn't sure what exactly it was that had triggered the last pieces finally falling into place, but he was grateful and attributed it to Harry in general, not truly caring about the unimportant details. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have done Tony any harm. Some distress, but no harm. He wasn't having any symptoms of a seizure, nor was his brain fried, leaving him a drooling, gibbering idiot, like he'd had nightmares about in the past.

He seemed to be perfectly alright. A little...okay, a lot… pissed about Loki's scepter, on a whole new level than he had been before, but otherwise, unharmed as far as he could tell. Tony could pop a couple of aspirin and be back to himself in thirty or so minutes. Mentally he made a note to hunt down where S.H.I.E.L.D. was keeping that little piece of doom and figure out a way to destroy it before it could hurt anyone else. Barton, Coulson and himself were casualty enough. Nevermind the countless civilian deaths in New York.

Reaching into his pocket, Tony withdrew the rings he'd kept close to him all this time. He couldn't think of a better time to do this. Harry had never cared much for big production, no pomp and circumstance would mean as much to him as Tony simply doing something that came from the bottom of his heart. It was one of the many things he loved about the man in his arms. Tony had every intention of spoiling him rotten after this, in all the little ways that he knew would mean the most to the Valkyrie.

Tony gazed down at the bands held in the palm of his hand for a few moments, contemplating how his life had changed so much in the past year, most of it good where it concerned Harry. Pepper was gone, his company was where it should be, firmly in his own control once more, Harry was home, and still loved him. His mind was his own again.

 _What better time was there to ask?_

Tony clenched his fist over the jewelry to hide them from immediate sight, and then gently shook his love awake from his deepening doze. Harry reluctantly, with some coaxing and a soft, protesting grunt of disagreement, peered up at him with sleepy eyes, and slightly ruffled hair. Tony noted with some concern, that his love was apparently more sleep deprived than he'd let on. He let it pass for the time being without comment, however, resolving to get Harry into bed soon so he could nap.

"Hey there, my beautiful sleepy bird." Tony teased gently, brushing some of the mussed hair from Harry's eyes.

Harry blinked at him, green orbs sharpening instantly at the pet name. He hummed questioningly, as he slid his arms up around Tony's neck and nuzzled his shoulder, still peeking up at him from under those dark eyelashes. His movements lazy like a content feline, rather than the bird he was more closely related to.

Tony chuckled, purposely baiting him with little bits of information. "Aren't you just the cutest little Submissive thing…"

Harry slowly lifted his head, holding Tony's gaze firmly now, nothing playful or sleepy held therein. Instead, there was faint hope blooming, making a hint of silver gleam from his gaze in the dim light of the limo's interior.

"Tony?" The Valkyrie rasped in a rough slumber tone.

Tony smiled at him, murmuring for only Harry's ears alone. "Present, and firing on all cylinders, my little Valkyrie."

"You're sure?" He inquired cautiously, and Tony's heart broke a little bit at the plaintive note edging into it.

Tony nodded. "As sure as Jarvis being my greatest creation ever."

Harry snorted in amusement, unable to help himself, but the smile he gave Tony was wide, and relieved. "I'm glad to have you back. All of you. I can't tell you how much the last few months have totally sucked. I was so worried about you, and...I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything, Tony! It was terrible, I-"

Tony quickly interrupted, knowing all too well how Harry would work himself up. Especially after bottling up his worries and fears for an extended period of time. He needed to head this off now before it got too far and he had a sobbing Valkyrie in his lap. That wouldn't be good for anybody.

"Hey now, I know. I'm sorry. I can imagine how that must have been, but I'm right here, now. All of me. I'm okay. _We're_ okay." He reached out to smooth back some of Harry's hair from his face again, knowing how much he liked to be pet, though he would never, ever, admit it out loud.

"And we're going to be better than ever. Right? Positive thoughts, love." Tony leaned forward to kiss Harry's lips lightly before pulling back. "Now, take a deep breath..."

Harry grumbled, but complied without much further protest. Inhaling deeply, then holding it for several long seconds, before letting it out slowly, familiar with this exercise from many years ago, when he would panic over college exams. Tony observed him attentively as much of the tension left Harry's body with it. "Now. Isn't that better? Calmer?"

Harry nodded.

Tony's hand slid to the back of Harry's neck, and he squeezed gently in reassurance. "It's over with. We're right where we're meant to be. Took us some time to get here, I'll admit. And that's almost completely my fault, but we're here. That's what matters."

Harry pressed into the hand holding the back of his neck, seeking comfort in it's steady presence. "I know. You're right. We're okay. But it was horrible Tony, and I don't think that's going to completely go away anytime soon."

Tony nodded, mind brushing over his own continuous battle with PTSD symptoms. They never really went fully away. He just found ways of making himself comfortable and dealing with them. Or at least, that's how Tony chose to handle it. "That's okay. I'm aware, and we both have things to work through, I'm sure. But right now, everything is alright. We don't want to work up into a panic. Not now that it's over."

He squeezed Harry's neck one more time, and moved his free hand back to lovingly cup his cheek, thumb brushing over Harry's lower lip. Tony took a deep breath to steel himself, and Harry tilted his head, sharp eyes picking up on his sudden nervousness. "Tony?"

Tony shook his head sharply, and Harry fell silent, and just observed him. Centering himself the best he could, Tony started to speak.

"For the record. I missed you too, like crazy. I wasn't sure that you were real, but you've proven me wrong in the best possible way. Magic, gorgeous feathered aliens, they can't possibly be more outrageous than Loki and his evil Spear of Destiny, super secret spy organizations, and honest to god super soldiers coming back from the dead. So. You'll have no more arguments from me on any weird shit you tell me from now on. And I'm sorry that I was such a dick, I can't ever apologize enough for that. It seems like no matter what I do, I seem to majorly fuck up with you."

Harry didn't interrupt, but he did release a soft, soothing coo that was entirely inhuman.

Tony blinked at the noise, but purposely let it go, wanting to finish his line of thinking. "So, there is a lot we need to talk about and work out together. That's going to take a while, and honestly, I'm not up to doing it right this minute. I'm just letting you know that I'm aware. I'm also aware, that you are holding things back from me. But, I've decided that I just don't fucking care. I love you. I want no one else except for you, in whatever package that comes in. You want to take over the world? The Universe? Fine, I'll give it to you on a silver platter. You want to open a no-name kosher bakery in South Africa? Fine, I'm there. My point, Harry, is that there is nothing you can do, nothing you can say, that will make me love you any less, or frighten me away. I'm done with that. There isn't anyone else for me."

He paused to take another deep breath, then plunged into the deep end. "With all of this in mind, I want to ask you a very important question. I want you to understand that I have no doubts, and whatever your answer, it won't change anything that I've just told you."

Tony turned his eyes to meet Harry's not having realized that he'd looked away during his little dramatic speech. He lifts his hand, the one holding the rings in a clenched fist. Harry's eyes immediately zero in on it, visibly burning with curiosity.

"Harold Sinclair."

Harry's eyes snapped up to Tony's, narrowing a little, since he hated his full first name being used. Tony opened his fist to reveal the bands laying on his palm.

"I know I'm wearing a stained, ruined suit. I know you're exhausted, and we're both a bit emotional after everything today. I know we have issues to talk about. I know that after all these years of having my head up my ass, I don't deserve you. But I want you. So, would you do a dumb asshole like me the honor of marrying me anyway?"

Harry blinked a few times, wondering if he heard Tony wrong before a slow, wobbly smile curled his lips. Gingerly he reached out to pick up the rings, examining them closely. Still silent. But Tony gave him a moment, knowing that Harry sometimes needed a minute to find his words. Tony recognized the moment that Harry saw the engraving on the inside of the bands. His eyes lit up, and his lower lip trembled, but he didn't cry. It was a close thing, and Tony wasn't sure if the glassiness of his wet eyes were a good or bad sign.

Still, he waited.

Finally, Harry took both of the rings and grabbed Tony's left in a demanding manner. He gave it to him without protest, as he watched as his still silent partner slid one of the bands onto Tony's ring finger, before handing the other ring back to him.

Solemnly, Tony took up Harry's left hand, and gently slid the matching band onto his ring finger, before lifting the hand to his lips, and kissing the back of it. Then turning it over to kiss, the palm, then the wrist, and finally, Tony reached out to tangle his right hand into Harry's hair, tugging him into a kiss so light, it was barely a brush of their lips together, and mostly a mingling of their breaths.

"I take it, this means yes," Tony stated with calm confidence, all the worry, nervousness and tension gone from him. His heart too full of happiness, gratefulness, and near worshipful love to have room for anything else.

Harry sniffled and huffed a watery laugh. "As if my answer would have been anything else, you imbecile. That was a hell of a proposal. Though, I won't argue with you being an asshole."

Tony laughed, a deep heartfelt emotion of pure joy as he leaned back away from Harry's lips. He entwined their ringed hands together and just looked, unable to help himself. Harry gazed down as well, and for several minutes, that's all they did was look, and revel in the joy shared between them. Neither one needed to have words for this moment, they were together, and working towards the future. That was what ultimately mattered to them both.

Eventually, Tony raised his gaze back up. Amusement coating his tone. "So...how long of an engagement are we talking about here?"

Harry tilted his head, the corners of his mouth quirking up in fond enjoyment. "I didn't have a time frame in mind."

Tony nodded, a grin stretching his lips, though his blue eyes were serious. "I was thinking...and feel free to tell me to fuck off at any point. You need to stay under the radar as much as realistically possible. I know I'm going to make that difficult, simply with my presence, both because of my name, and because of Ironman…" He trailed off, seemingly losing his train of thought for a moment. "I guess...what I'm trying to say is...what I'm trying to ask…"

Tony sighed. "A formal wedding is going to be a media disaster, no matter what I do. S.H.I.E.L.D. will find out about it, eventually, even if it's not splashed across every tabloid rag in the world. Posting the announcement in the British paper would amount to the same thing, if a little bit slower…"

Harry reached over to place a hand over Tony's mouth, effectively stopping his words. Tony arched a brow at him. Harry just grinned at him affectionately.

"Let's hit Vegas Tony."

Harry dropped his hand away. People were going to talk to matter what they did. Maybe this way, it wouldn't be noticed in the mass of regularly ill-thought out marriages that religiously came out of that city. It might give them cover for a little while.

"Fuck yeah, baby. You read my mind."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Not hard to do." He muttered.

Tony shrugged. "I thought you might kill me for just suggesting it."

Harry grinned. It was a shark's smile, and sent a not unpleasant chill down Tony's spine. "Nah. I'm going to have more fun tormenting you in other ways."

"Yes, please." Tony quipped back as they settle back down to snuggle.

At some point, the world intrudes on their little bubble of joy. Happy knocks on the dividing window, before turning on the intercom. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I hate to bother you and your guest, but we need to get going. We've been here for several hours. You have a long distance phone meeting with Germany tonight, and it's going to take us a little bit to get Mr. Sinclair back to his car, and get us back to the house. The storm is going to be hitting us hard soon, I don't want to risk this big beast in snowy conditions."

Tony groaned in dismay, having completely forgotten about the phone call, and the worsening weather. He hadn't done any of his preparation for either. Having been utterly side tracked while picking up a coffee. But finding Harry was more than worth it. He would just have to figure something out. Sighing, he reached out to press the button for the intercom. "Yeah, alright, give me just a few minutes Happy."

Turning to Harry, he asked. "Would you come back to the house with me? I can have someone pick up the car if you like? I really don't want to be separated from you just yet."

Harry was nodding before Tony had even finished. "That's fine. I would love to come home with you. I can easily cancel the hotel room, but I need my bags with my clothes at some point before I do that."

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

They managed to beat the storm back to Tony's home safely, with plenty of time to gather together Harry's things before the storm blustered in. Happy had been able to arrange a retrieval of the rental car, having it parked in Tony's expansive garage. While they swung by the hotel long enough to fetch Harry's bags on the way to Tony's home., arriving with just minutes to spare before the skies had opened up and began dumping thick flakes onto the panicking citizens of Malibu.

Happy, when he finally came back into the house, immediately took Harry's bags, into the guest room, therefore missing Jarvis's warm greetings and too familiar for mere stranger's tone. When he returned to the living room, it was clear that Happy was reluctant to take off to his own little apartment. One that Tony had built in for staff downstairs, closer to the garage. Finally, before the lingering became too awkward, Tony waved him away with a smile and promise of frozen pizza later for dinner.

Neither Tony nor Harry had bothered to correct Happy about where the Valkyrie was going to be sleeping. Tony, because he couldn't be bothered, and Harry because he found the other man's suspicious nature both amusing and reassuring. Happy, at least, was watching out for his friend. Even if he couldn't stop Tony from making possibly terrible choices. It was obvious the man had no qualms about staring someone down in an attempt at silent threat and intimidation.

Unfortunately for Mr. Hogan, Harry had dealt with much more threatening beings in both of his lives. Happy's glare rated about the same level as a petulant puppy, in comparison.

Harry had Jarvis call Kiran, to inform the older Valkyrie of his change in arrangements, and then parked himself in the living room to unwind while Tony took care of his unavoidable meeting. Vanishing from sight after dropping a peck of a kiss on Harry's cheek, mumbling about nearly being late. Harry just smiled in fondness, humming in acknowledgment at his mate's retreating back, and looked around before making himself comfortable on the overstuffed leather sofa as Tony disappeared into the downstairs office just off the living room.

"Jarvis," Harry murmured softly, not wishing to disturb Tony.

"Yes, Harry?"

The Valkyrie quirked an eyebrow as he eyeballed Tony's overly complicated TV remote. "Can you find a movie on the telly for me? Something relaxing, please?"

"Of course, Harry. Something seasonal, perhaps? There are several of those playing at the present time."

Harry nodded. "That's fine, Jarvis. Thanks."

"You are welcome, Harry. If I may say...you are more than welcome to relax fully if you would prefer. I will certainly inform you if Mr. Hogan decides to return upstairs."

Harry paused to consider it. It would certainly be nice to stretch his wings out over the couch and not have to worry about leaving them so exposed. The only one who would see the shameless display was his mate, which was well within propriety, even if they weren't officially Bonded, just yet. They were engaged, which would keep it from being scandalous. Jarvis, by virtue of being a computer program, didn't count as any sort of audience.

 _Still...if Tony's reaction the first time is any indication, perhaps not right now._

"Hmm, no. I don't think so at the moment Jarvis, thanks anyway. I don't wish to risk distracting Tony from his meeting. Though I may take you up on that offer after he is done."

"As you wish, Harry. Is this movie acceptable?"

Harry glanced at the screen and saw a black and white Christmas movie playing that he was unfamiliar with. "Yes, that's fine."

"Very well then." They both slipped into a comfortable silence, and Harry let his mind begin to wander as he made himself comfortable.

Outside, the winter storm wailed and rampaged all along the Malibu coast, swiftly turning into full blown blizzard conditions. The poor, unsuspecting populace of southern California was reeling in shock, despite previous near doomsday warnings on the radio earlier in the day. All day, Harry had noticed people vacillating between near blind panic, and almost contemptuous dismissal of the information. Ironically, it had turned into the storm of the century within only a few short hours of the first flurries sighted. Emergency alerts were taking over most channels on the television. Everyone who hadn't previously fled the Malibu area at the first proof of snowfall were now hunkering down in whatever shelter they had found. The Valkyrie Prince hoped that they were fortunate enough, or smart enough to have prepared for a few days, because it didn't look like the storm was going to let up anytime soon.

Luckily, Harry and Tony were safely ensconced within his Cliffside mansion. Despite the fact that the building hung part way over the ocean, it was a strong structure, re-enforced for both the weight of Tony's garage hobby, and the labs where he worked on his Ironman suits. His home could safely endure these high winds, and the weight of the quickly accumulating snow on the roof, without causing a flicker of concern.

Harry gazed in mild fascination as heavy winds battered against Tony's windows fiercely, flinging flurries of white in a chaotic tantrum. With the setting sun on the distant horizon, the very air appeared to glimmer and glint on occasion, as though diamond dust saturated the wind. The clouds were swiftly obscuring the what little remaining sunlight there was, bringing night on faster than it normally would have approached. Still, in spite of the violence of the weather, Harry found himself deeply entranced by it.

He watched the unusual snowfall, immersed in his content lethargy. Moving only enough to pull down the fleece blanket that was draped over the back of Tony's couch, most likely for show rather than use, and curled up on the generously large living room couch. The only thing missing was a piping hot cup of tea warming his hands, but the Valkyrie was in a state of domestic bliss, and couldn't be bothered to move from his spot to fix himself some.

This wasn't his home, but Tony's scent saturated nearly every surface. Both comforting and enticing his inner Valkyrie. This was his mate's nest, he was safe here. There wasn't a hint of Pepper anywhere that Harry had noticed thus far, not even a lingering stale scent that would indicate her presence from some time ago. What was apparent, however, were the freshly painted walls, the newness of furniture pieces, and a distinct Tony style of art placed here and there. It made something inside him, that Harry hadn't acknowledged was there, unclench, and finally relax. It felt like a previously unknown weight was lifted from him. The shift startled him, and made him realize just how unsettled he had been, being separated from his mate, and just how accustomed to that level of distress he had become.

Harry didn't explore more than the common living spaces at this point, too comfortable right where he was, but he felt confident that if these places had been so thoroughly cleansed of her, then surely the more private spaces had been just as meticulously redone. Secretly, he was deeply pleased and amused by the extent Tony had gone to erase Pepper's mark on anything he deemed as his own. It was petty, and Harry had no intention of sharing the sentiment with his mate, but he refused to feel bad for this bit of meanness in his character. That woman had caused both of them too much pain over the years for the Valkyrie to have any sort of generous spirit towards her.

It was only out of respect for Tony's feelings that Harry hadn't violently, and personally, dealt with her during that time frame. Briefly, he wondered if Tony's opinion on the subject might change at some point, but he doubted it. The man had too big a heart behind those shields of his. Tony would rather never have to deal with the woman ever again, then put her six feet under. Which would be Harry's preferred method of moving on, morality be damned. Pepper's blackmail material was set to expire in short order. Harry couldn't in good conscience marry his mate without being honest about the events that led to his parent's murder. He just prayed that their emotional bond with each other was as a strong as he thought it was.

Faintly in the background, Harry could hear Tony debating with someone from his German section of Stark Industries, but Harry was tuning most of it out, uninterested in technical babble at the moment. They had been going back for forth now for close to three hours now. Mixing with the soft meeting conversation from the other room was the current programming on the large TV screen to his left. It was on low volume, playing another overrun Christmas movie that he wasn't paying the least bit of attention to. It wasn't obviously apparent, but Harry could hear the underlying frustration in his mate's voice. It made Harry idly muse about how much longer Tony would put up with whatever the issue was before losing his temper at the poor schmuck that got stuck with the video conference.

The relative quiet was nice while it lasted, broken finally by a pausing point in the meeting, where everyone took a step back to get something to eat and cool their tempers. Harry had no idea what their German counterpart was consuming, but he was perfectly happy with the idea of pizza for dinner. It was yummy, would feed all of them without fuss, and required little effort to make.

At this time, Harry forced himself up from the couch and drifted into the kitchen, where he paused a moment to watch as Tony slid two extra-large frozen pizzas into the oven. Lips quirking up into a little smile, Harry made his way over to his mate and wrapped his arms around his waist, nuzzling the nape of his neck.

"I would ask how things went, but I'm sort of afraid of the answer."

Tony let out a large sigh, and then chuckled softly, resting his hands over Harry's and squeezing them gently. "I'd rather talk about pretty much anything else at the moment, love. Suffice to say, they are a bunch of egotistical morons who think they can get away with using substandard materials and changing my designs as they see fit. Because _apparently,_ things were too expensive or some such bullshit. Their budget was more than what they needed to accomplish the prototypes I wanted. Somebody, somewhere, either royally fucked up, or pocketed a large chunk of that money."

Harry winced and rested his forehead against Tony's shoulder. "Yikes. I'd be looking for someone's head on a platter too. Why specifically have the German portion of Stark Industries make these prototypes though?"

Tony shifted and turned in Harry's arms, making the Valkyrie lift his head and loosen his hold enough for Tony to face him. Tony wrapped his arms around Harry's neck in a relaxed pose. "Because it was supposed to be cheaper for one, and because they were going to receive the first test marketing. It would have been a possible boost for their economy if it took off like I was thinking. It would have created thousands of jobs over the next few years, both in production and sales on corporate and retail levels."

"Ah. I see. And now?" Harry reached up to card the fingers of his right hand through Tony's already ruffled hair.

His mate huffed. "I haven't made up my mind. Depends on what happened to the money first of all, and if I can replace the assholes working on the schematics, I sent over. If no one is willing to play ball, I'm going to take the product elsewhere. I've got another bid offer that was just as good. I went with them because I already have a partial company branch there, and because they needed the jobs it would provide."

Tony closed his eyes and relaxed into Harry's fingers, sighing in gentle pleasure. "Change of topic now?" He murmured softly.

Harry leaned forward to lightly brush a kiss over each closed eyelid. "Hmm, yes. Thank you for sharing the little bit you did with me. Do you have vegetables in your fridge? I kinda want a salad with my pizza tonight."

A small smile tugged Tony's lips as he opened his eyes and gazed into Harry's green ones fondly. "Not sure, honestly. I don't remember the last time I did any shopping. Likely years ago, from never. Jarvis places the order and has it delivered while I'm out, or in the labs, so I usually have no idea what is in there half the time."

Harry raised his brows in disbelief as he gently pulled out of Tony's arms. "Oh my god Tony, _really?_ You are so damned _lazy_." He teased, laughing lightly. Tony just grinned back at him, unrepentant, and shrugged.

Harry turned towards the appliance and gingerly opened the door. "I don't know whether to be terrified of a radioactive monster colony growing in here, or excited to see what Jarvis tries to get you to eat."

"I assure you, Harry," Jarvis interrupted Harry's good natured ribbing of Tony. "You need not fear being consumed by anything monstrous living in the refrigerator. The maid cleans it out once a week, regularly. There should certainly be the appropriate vegetables in there for a leaf salad. Diana came by yesterday with extra groceries. You will find much more in the storage pantry to your right, if you should choose to look. I believe there to be plenty of variety and quantity that food will not be a concern for the duration of the foul weather. Even if you are confined for more than two weeks. Although the fresh food might be more questionable at that point."

Harry snorted a laugh, "Thanks, Jarvis. That's helpful and reassuring." and opened the door fully to browse his options, pulling out what he wanted. Pointing a cucumber at Tony, Harry narrowed his eyes and haughtily stated. " _You_ Sir, are a shiftless, incorrigible _sod_ that would likely starve to death if Jarvis didn't make sure to nearly force feed you now and again."

Tony laughed loudly, leaning his hip against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest with an unabashed grin. "Guilty as charged, in every sense of the definition of the word."

Harry snorts, and rolls his eyes, as he turned back to his vegetables, quickly, with Jarvis's help, fishing out the cutting board, a large bowl, and an appropriate knife. Completely ignoring Tony as the blue-eyed man plastered himself against Harry's back, sliding his hands into the front pockets of Harry's jeans. More than used to this, since Tony had done it on and off while Harry cooked for years, the Valkyrie had no issue maneuvering about his tasks with Tony acting the part of limpet.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

This was the strangely domestic scene that Happy walked in on as he entered the kitchen, summoned from his little apartment by the AI since dinner would be ready in only twenty or so minutes. He hesitated in the doorway, a little uncomfortable with the picture presented before him. It shocked him, frankly. He'd never thought that Tony would be interested in men. But obviously, Happy was not privy to all of his friends' secrets. The notion wounded him.

He'd never seen Tony acting this way before, and was a bit disturbed by the seemingly one eighty in personality. Tony showed his affection in material ways, or at least, that had been how he showed it in the past to Pepper and a whole host of other women who had breezed in and out of his life. He kept everyone at a physical distance as much as possible. This sudden change made Hogan question just how well he'd really knew his friend, and also made him even more deeply suspicious of this Harry person. Even as a nagging thought took root in his mind. Perhaps this was the reason Tony couldn't ever settle down? Some of the women in his life had been good women, who Tony had eventually chased away with his antics.

 _Was this the reason? Has Tony been struggling with this for years and I've just been blind to his pain? Surely, I would have had some kind of an inkling beforehand? Or is this Harry just an exception to the rule? Or is something else going on?_

He forced himself to step further into the kitchen and pushed his conflicted feelings on the matter to the back of his mind. His opinion didn't matter here, only Tony's safety.

"Hello, again. Dinner smells good." He offered neutrally, unsure what was a safe topic to broach at this point.

There was no mistaking at this point, what their relationship was. Again, Happy bit his tongue, and kept silent on the matter. He hadn't yet seen or heard anything he could call this stranger out on. Even if Tony, himself, was behaving strangely. He would have to just keep his guard up, and be ever more vigilant about Tony's safety.

Harry looked over his shoulder and smiled in a friendly way, while Tony just grunted an acknowledgment of his presence. That, at least, wasn't out of the ordinary if the genius' mind was otherwise occupied.

"Hi, again Happy." Harry chirped happily, causing Hogan to blink.

"Those should be coming out of the oven in just a few minutes. Go ahead and get comfortable if you'd like while I finish this." Happy just nodded, a little thrown by the perky tone. Harry had struck him as reserved and quiet, though politely friendly, like most other British people he had encountered. Which, admittedly, was only a few.

He was also a little perturbed about how Harry seemed to have instantly made himself at home. Speaking to Happy as though he was a guest in _Harry's own_ house, rather than a long term living resident in Tony's mansion. His eyes flicked to Tony to see if he had caught it, but either the man hadn't, or he simply didn't care, because he didn't react at all. Happy frowned, but quickly cleared the expression from his features.

 _Now isn't the time._ He firmly reminded himself. _I have no answers to anything, only speculations, and assumptions._

Seeing what Harry was making, he eyed the lettuce doubtfully, but dutifully pulled down both plates as well as bowls from the cupboard, and forks from the silverware drawer, giving himself the task of setting the table. Something he normally did when he and Tony ate in the kitchen together. Harry would obviously be eating also, since he was making part of the meal in the first place. Happy had no problem with consuming some of it himself, but he felt that Harry was making entirely too much for just the two of them.

 _He seriously doesn't think that Tony is going to eat any of that salad, does he?_ Happy mentally scoffed to himself.

It wasn't his place to point such a thing out, however. Pepper had tried several times over the course of their relationship to get Tony to eat a more healthy and balanced diet. Each attempt was met with failure, nine point eight times out of ten. The idea made Happy smug for a few moments, as he anticipated how Harry would react to Tony's childishness concerning green vegetables.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Harry was well aware of Happy's skepticism. Could practically feel it vibrating from the man from all the way across the room. He wasn't being as subtle as he thought about it. But Harry ignored it for now and just fixed a bowl of the greens for Tony. Harry wasn't sure what exactly Mr. Hogan was expecting. Perhaps for Tony to refuse the item being handed to him.

 _Or maybe he was thinking that Tony would turn down eating the salad itself?_

Neither happened, of course.

Harry's mate took the bowl from his hand without blinking, or seemingly taking much note of the action itself. Murmuring thanks, and giving him a firm kiss on the cheek before he poked around for dressing in the refrigerator. When Harry glanced discreetly from the corner of his eye, Happy appeared startled, and gave Tony an incredulous look before schooling the expression from his face again. Instead, he just finished setting the table, then walked over and picked up his bowl of salad with a soft thanks of his own.

Harry nodded his head with a little hum, indicating that Happy had been heard. Harry then quickly fixed his own bowl and picked up one of the dressings that Tony had discarded on the counter, taking it to the table with him as he sat down. Tony was busy pulling the two pizzas out of the oven, quickly cutting them into manageable pieces. Within a minute or so, he was bringing them over to the table and setting the platter down, along with his own salad.

Without a word of complaint, Tony pulled the bowl in front of him, and proceeded to consume it, only pausing to pick out an olive or two. Dropping them into Harry's own bowl as he found them. After Harry and Happy had selected their own pieces of pizza, Tony finally reached for his own. Then pulled a Starkpad out of his pocket to get down some of the equations running around in his head before he forgot them.

Harry side-eyed him in amusement, but wasn't upset, this wasn't the first time Tony had brought work to the table, and so long as it didn't happen while they were on a date, Harry ignored it. Harry knew he could get wrapped up in his own work just as easily at times. They didn't talk as they ate. Tony was almost fully distracted by whatever schematic was on the Starkpad. Occasionally, Tony could be heard grumbling under his breath, usually cursing the general stupidity of the human population.

Harry was busy picking all the meat off of his pizza slices with a slight grimace of distaste for the greasy bits of flesh, which Tony periodically stole off the side of his plate and popped into his mouth without even looking up. An act that Harry found highly entertaining. Mischievously, Harry slipped an olive from his salad into the pile. Desperately, he fought to repress a snort of laughter as he watched his mate pick it up. Within seconds, Tony was spitting it out into his napkin with a vile curse of disgust, while Harry lost his battle to keep the snickering locked in. Tony pointed his fork at him in mock threat, one eyebrow raised as he exaggerated a severe frown. No words were needed. Harry knew he would be paying for that later.

Tony hated olives.

 _Worth it._ Harry mused, turning back to his food.

 **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MB *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Happy, half sunk in his seat, hardly tasted his own food as his sharp eyes darted from one man to the other. His mouth, a thin hard line of increasing alarm and displeasure as he observed every unconsciously intimate and domestic gesture between the two. He didn't know what to make of any of this, yet.

It was obvious that these two knew one another well. Which pissed him off because he still couldn't understand why Tony hadn't told him. He'd thought that the two of them were close enough to share secrets like this. Happy was certainly very much aware of every other conquest of Tony's throughout the years, and never once, had Tony ever shown an interest in another man.

Obviously, this was something he had kept to himself because the two men were not new lovers. Every soft word, every moment of silent communication, every twitch of unconscious body language told Happy that whatever this was between the two of them. It was familiar, it was comfortable. It was old. It had been going on for a long time. And Tony had never told him. It was difficult not to feel deeply offended at the notion.

It was almost impossible for him to not be suspicious of this 'Not Mr. Sinclair, just Harry, please,' person. He was unlike anyone Tony had brought home before, including Pepper. He was more laid back for one. Didn't seem to care about Tony's wealth, seeming to look past it like it wasn't there, which made Happy conclude that he came from money of his own. Possibly old money, with him being British and all. While that reassured him on some level that this stranger wasn't after the Stark fortune, it didn't erase his other concerns.

Tony had taken something from Harry's hands without protest, or even acknowledging the action. Hell, Tony was eating _salad_ without a single noise of protest. Food that Happy knew full well that Tony avoided as much as possible. Then there was the picking off of Harry's plate. Tony never did that. The man was somewhat of a germaphobe in that area. He'd loudly proclaimed more than once that sharing food was disgusting, human mouths were breeding factories for illnesses of all kinds. Yet here he was, stealing sausage and pepperoni without a lick of concern.

It baffled him.

Just who was this stranger in Tony's home? Harry wasn't put off by his less than warm welcome. Happy knew he was just skirting the edge of rudeness. But Tony had yet to take him to task for it, which confused him. Not that he wanted his friend to, of course, but it just made him even more wary. The Tony he was familiar with would have cornered him already if Happy had been this stand offish to any of Tony's previous women. So what was different here? Just because Harry was a man, maybe?

 _Too many questions, not enough answers. Patience. Observe._ Happy told himself, once again, as he concentrated on demolishing his salad.

 _It's not your place to get in the middle of whatever is going on here. Not yet, at any rate. This Harry, if he is a threat, is bound to slip up at some point. If he's not, then he's not. It doesn't matter in the long run. Besides, he's no different than any other broad that Tony brought home. The only one that had had any staying power was Pepper. Quit being an ass and make conversation. You can manage polite dinner conversation old man, surely._

Happy finished his greens and gently pushed the bowl aside, raising his head with the intention of doing just that. Reassuring himself again, that Harry must surely just be a passing thing. Tony was just falling back into old habits after Pepper had left him. Like he did with the alcohol. The only difference was this conquest happened to be male this time, and Tony was being overly affectionate because he was still reeling from his break-up. Even if he would never admit it out loud to anyone. Happy was prepared to deal with the possible fallout, like he had every other time. Harry's gender put a new spin on things, but was ultimately irrelevant.

Then Happy saw the matching wedding bands.

His every thought ground to a violent, screeching halt.


End file.
